Embedding Usage Sensors in Point-of-Use Water Treatment Devices: Sensor Design and Application in Limpopo, South Africa.

ABSTRACT: Health benefits from point-of-use (POU) water treatment devices come only with consistent use. Embedded sensors can measure the consistency of POU-device use and can provide insights about improving it. We demonstrate both potentials with data from SmartSpouts: accelerometer-based sensors embedded in spigot handles that record the duration and timing of use. In the laboratory, most sensor readings correlated well (>0.98) with manually timed water withdrawals. In the field, SmartSpouts measured >60,000 water withdrawals across 232 households in Limpopo, South Africa. Sensors proved critical to understanding consistent use; surveys overestimated it by 53 percentage points. Sensor data showed when households use POU devices (evening peaks and delayed weekend routines) and user preferences (sa

SUBMITTER: Meyer DD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9207768 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature