Apple CEO Tim Cook among first investors in water saving shower head startup Nebia
The makers of a new water conserving shower head can count Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook among their first investors, who took a personal stake in the company after trying the eco-friendly product.
In addition to courting Cook as an investor, Nebia's shower heads have also been installed at Apple's corporate campus in Cupertino, Calif., according to The New York Times. Nebia is a six-person company based out of San Francisco.
The product is said to resemble the base of an iMac, and its unique design reportedly cuts down water use by up to 70 percent. A Nebia shower is said to use six gallons in an average use, while the typical shower consumes 20 gallons.
Nebia accomplishes this with specialized nozzles that turn water into tiny droplets. Doing so not only cuts down on water use, but also increases the surface area of the spray tenfold.
Though it has funding from Cook, as well as Alphabet executive Eric Schmidt, Nebia is still seeking funding through a new Kickstarter project. As of Tuesday, the effort has already exceeded its $100,000 goal.
The fully self-installed shower system features an adjustable bracket and a portable wand. With savings on water usage, Nebia claims its product pays for itself in less than two years.
On its Kickstarter page, Nebia thanks Apple for allowing the company to test its product at its campus. The new shower head has also been tested at Google, Stanford University, and Equinox Gyms.
The product is planned to retail for $399 when it hits the market, but backers on Kickstarter can get in at a discounted price of $299. Nebia estimates that it will begin shipping by May 2016.
In addition to courting Cook as an investor, Nebia's shower heads have also been installed at Apple's corporate campus in Cupertino, Calif., according to The New York Times. Nebia is a six-person company based out of San Francisco.
The product is said to resemble the base of an iMac, and its unique design reportedly cuts down water use by up to 70 percent. A Nebia shower is said to use six gallons in an average use, while the typical shower consumes 20 gallons.
Nebia accomplishes this with specialized nozzles that turn water into tiny droplets. Doing so not only cuts down on water use, but also increases the surface area of the spray tenfold.
Though it has funding from Cook, as well as Alphabet executive Eric Schmidt, Nebia is still seeking funding through a new Kickstarter project. As of Tuesday, the effort has already exceeded its $100,000 goal.
The fully self-installed shower system features an adjustable bracket and a portable wand. With savings on water usage, Nebia claims its product pays for itself in less than two years.
On its Kickstarter page, Nebia thanks Apple for allowing the company to test its product at its campus. The new shower head has also been tested at Google, Stanford University, and Equinox Gyms.
The product is planned to retail for $399 when it hits the market, but backers on Kickstarter can get in at a discounted price of $299. Nebia estimates that it will begin shipping by May 2016.
Comments
$399, ha ha ha ha.
Maybe when I buy my $25000 iWatch.
Except with no water pressure it takes 5 times longer to rinse your hair. OK for bald people I guess. Stupid waste of time for the rest of us.
I think this is a major hurdle. The price is at least 10x the cost of a normal shower head, and given that the experience is supposed to justify the price, they need to somehow let potential buyers 'get their feet wet' to make the sale.
Also, since I rent an apartment and don't pay the water utility bill, the savings is no incentive for me.
With modern wall-mounted home water heaters, there's no waiting for the water to heat up.
The ten fold surface area of the water droplets maybe more than compensates for the seemingly less amount of water flowing in terms of the feeling and washability .... I'd have to try one to know but I suspect so.
I can see why Tim Cook is interested in this, they are charging hundreds of dollars for something that shouldn't cost more than $50.
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-kpluck
I I know I had one of those years ago but the vast number of homes that don't have instant hot water right at the point of the shower need such a system.
Here is your opportunity then, go design and sell a competitor for $50!
http://www.thisiswhyimbroke.com/flexible-misting-hose
All of the water that is wasted down the drain while waiting for it to warm up - that's low-hanging fruit if you're trying to conserve water, people!
...surely this could be internalized in the water system itself so the water than runs until the pipes warm up is automatically returned to the storage tank...
This has been done and used in one of the toughest environments around for years-- the International Space Station. It gets all water from air, sweat, human waste, anything that has a byproduct generating or causing condensate H2O, etc...
At 8.3 lbs/gal (1.0 atm, room temp, etc...) it would be the most expensive consumable shipped to the ISS -- unless of course they found a way to ship dehydrated. ¡
Very stylish.
No it isn't.
Hans Grohe Raindance - FTW.
Luckily, I don't need to conserve water so can shower under a deluge.
Should work great until hard water hits the thing.
The problem with all the low flow shower heads (and I have used the same one (1.5 gpm) since the 90's and love it) they get clogged with hard water deposits. I have to clean mine every few years to it works correctly. Look at this design cleaning it is not going to be easy.