3

LENS

using Showerloop every day “would save an
estimated 33 000 litres of water and 650 kWh of
energy per person and year” compared to a normal
shower. The system works by capturing hot water
from the drain and filtering it through a microfibre
screen to remove hair and other large contaminants.
Sand is then used to filter out smaller particles, while
homemade activated carbon mixed with salt removes
chemicals and foul odours from the water. Finally,
ultraviolet light is used to kill any bacteria in the water,
before pumping it back to the showerhead for another
‘loop’. The resulting recycled water is so pure that it
exceeds both US and EU standards for drinking water.
In the future, Jason intends to establish collaborations
with more international partners that can help him
build a clearer understanding of how the project can
be applied to a humanitarian context.
Jason designed the Showerloop system in an
attempt to balance filtering capacity with aesthetics
and deployability. The filters had to be large enough to
adequately cleanse grey water, while remaining small
enough to fit into a typical bathroom without causing
complete disruption. Showerloop’s latest design uses
two slim-profile ‘flow regulators’ to split the flow of
grey water between two filters before recombining
the filtered water into a single stream ready for UV
sterilisation. This design enables two thinner filter
tubes to do the same job as a single large-
diameter filter.

A year after POC21, Jason and collaborator Eduard

Kobak won the Galileo Knowledge Prize at the

GreenTec Awards 2017 for developing “a truly

sustainable innovation that we urgently need in times

of global warming and climate change”, according to

GreenTec Awards judge, Stefan Gödde. Jason and

Eduard have continued to support the Showerloop

project, attracting the attention of Autodesk University

in Las Vegas, where they built and displayed their latest

prototype “sink loop” before launching the Showerloop

concept as a fully fledged business. While DIY kits of

the Showerloop are periodically available for purchase,

Jason and Eduard have also made the designs open

source, enabling anyone to replicate the Showerloop

technology independently. The only condition is that

you share what you learn with the Showerloop team.

FINNISH DESIGN

Jason, who lives near Helsinki, first had the idea for

Showerloop in 2009, while working on a class project

as part of a course in thermodynamics. His background

as an environmental engineer honed his technical

skills, but he found trying to position the concept of

Showerloop as a product significantly challenging. “It’s

one thing to design something, but another to figure

out if it will work in the real world,” he mused.

Currently, Jason and Eduard have ongoing

collaborations with several organisations in Finland and

across Europe, including Aalto FABLAB, Metropolia

University of Applied Science, and Turbiini Startup

Accelerator. The current focus is on exhibiting their

work at the Finnish Design Museum. They have

designed a flat-pack shower stall that can be produced

and assembled using a laser cutter and basic hand

tools to accompany the Showerloop system.

Jason’s advice to others who want to develop

sustainable technology? “You should be ambitious to

get it out there and make it big.”

Left

As well as saving

the environment,

Showerloop adds a

certain steam punk

aesthetic to your

bathroom

I think we’ve already got all the

technology that we need so that everyone

on the planet can live sustainably and

with an even higher quality of life than

before. Open Source is the fastest and

fairest way to do that

“

”

Below

Finnish

environmental

engineer Jason

Selvarajan