January 16 2008

"Smart" Urinal?

Well... okay, it won't beat anyone at chess or help your kid with his calculus homework, but there is an impressive amount of technology in Caroma's new "Cube 3 Ultra" urinal. The Australian plumbing products company already sold a waterless urinal model. (See our previous post on the technology.) They also sold a standard low-water use model. The new product is intended to fit the niche between the two.

The product looks good (for a urinal anyway) and flushes with just .15 gallons of water. But... the truly impressive feature is the automatic flush sensor. Unlike other valves in both toilets and urinals, it is NOT motion activated. Instead, it senses the amount of liquid in the bowl and flushes accordingly. This eliminates false flushes from someone walking by the fixture, something which in improperly calibrated standard models, can waste huge quantities of water. The on-board computer also adjusts the flush volume based upon the quantity of liquid, allowing further reduction in water use. Finally, in cases where high volume use occurs (say... at intermission at a Broadway theater), the computer switches to "stadium mode," where it flushes once a minute instead of after every use, saving yet more water.

Here at Greenline, we're a big fan of waterless urinals, but in cases where a client isn't comfortable with that technology, the Caroma "Cube 3," might prove to be just the alternative product we need.

January 16th, 2008 at 1:19 PM. Posted in Products + Technology. Share this post.