Oras Hydractiva Digital hand shower: When saving water and energy becomes an experience

Sustainability and the intelligent use of resources are becoming more and more important in our society. When it comes to implementing changes in our own everyday behaviour, the intent is good but reality often the opposite. An example of this is when we take a hot shower. From now on, the smart hand shower is here to help: The new Oras Hydractiva Digital is not only stylish, it also has clever functionality, award-winning design and motivational real-time feedback to encourage users to save water and energy.

Hot water is one of the biggest energy consumers and sources of CO2 emissions from private households. More than two-thirds of this is a result of daily showering. The energy consumption for one minute of showering is equivalent to the consumption from a whole day of lighting in a 3-person household. Those who want to reduce water and energy consumption in a targeted manner can start therefore with the daily shower ritual. The difficulty: The actual extent of individual showering behaviour is usually not known. This means that many users find it difficult to assess their own actions and bring about a noticeable change.

Innovative solution: Hand shower with real-time feedback

Oras is responding to the growing need for water- and energy-saving products with a smart, digital hand shower. The new Oras Hydractiva Digital facilitates sustainable consumption and helps users optimise their behaviour simply and effectively. It is based on numerical real-time feedback – similar to sports watches and pedometers. Special feature: a display is integrated into the back of the hand-shower, which shows the current water and energy consumption during and after showering. In addition to displaying consumption, icons in the form of small leaves help to regulate a person’s individual showering behaviour: the number of leaves ranges from five to zero depending on the water and energy consumption. A coloured LED display on the front of the shower head provides additional visualisation. Depending on consumption and water temperature, the colour changes during showering from green to orange to red. Users therefore receive real-time feedback, can regulate their actions accordingly and adapt them to personal goals. The key to a more informed use of resources does not lie in restrictions – such as only taking cold showers – but in motivational feedback and a sense of achievement. The hand shower shows that even a barely perceptible reduction in shower temperature can save considerable amounts of energy. Users therefore have the potential to improve their own environmental footprint with every shower. A win-win situation for man and nature. This is because falling consumption not only reduces the costs of water and energy, but the environment also benefits from up to 24 percent lower CO2 emissions.*

Intelligent technology and modern design

The smart technology inside the hand shower is developed by the company Amphiro. The Swiss technology company has been part of the Oras Group since 2018 embodying high levels of competence in the areas of energy efficiency, innovative product development and the Internet of Things (IoT). Aspects which are also reflected in the functionality of the new Oras Hydractiva Digital. All components of the digital hand shower therefore obtain their energy via a small turbine – a kind of "mini generator" – directly from the water flow. Batteries or a mains connection are therefore not required. In total, the shower can store data from more than 100 shower operations. In order to track long-term developments, the Bluetooth®-enabled Oras Hydractiva Digital can also be connected to a practical app.

In addition to integrated intelligent technology, the digital hand shower is characterised by a stylish and timeless modern appearance. The renowned design studio, NOA, is responsible for the stylish, self-contained look. Once again, the designers have succeeded in optimally combining elegant design, harmoniously flowing transitions and trendsetting functionality. The new Oras Hydractiva Digital can be combined with any existing shower system, integrates perfectly into all bathroom styles and enables sustainable everyday water and energy consumption in an innovative, smart and diverting way.

Award-winning design

The Oras Hydractiva Digital is one of the winners of two prestigious design awards. The digital hand shower was even honored in two categories for outstanding design quality at the German Design Awards 2021: "Bathroom and Wellness" and "Eco Design". The German Design Award is one of the most prestigious design awards worldwide and is presented by a top-class international jury of experts. At the ICONIC AWARDS, it received its third award and the rating "best of best" in the Innovative Interior 2021 competition. Every year, the ICONIC AWARDS honor outstanding design achievements in the interior design industry and its partners.

* Source: Amphiro studies conducted with the previous generation product concept.

The Bluetooth® trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and its use by Oras Ltd. is under licence.