Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
carpe demi

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


           

Water Cooler Service Light

Save some energy
  (+1)
(+1)
  [vote for,
against]

What I'm referring to as a "water cooler" is simply a drinking fountain you find in public or private buildings that dispenses cold water.

A recent pet peeve of mine is water coolers that run constantly and dispense lukewarm water. This typically means that they are out of refrigerant charge or there is some other mechanical problem. Why this bothers me is because these units are using a lot of energy and are doing nothing. Nobody will ever notice that there is a problem unless a janitor cares enough to notify the building manager, so these things run continuously for years.

My solution is just to have the unit shut itself off and turn on a service light if there's a problem.

Exciting? Admittedly not. But my guess is this would save a huge amount of resources.

Worldgineer, May 03 2004

Water Coolers http://www.halseytaylor.com/coolers.html
Typically have 5 year warrantees. My guess is they last 5 years and 1 month before breaking down and running continuously. [Worldgineer, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]


Please log in.
If you're not logged in, you can see what this page looks like, but you will not be able to add anything.



Annotation:







       <nostalgia>reminds me of an excellent Far Side cartoon</nostalgia>
neilp, Oct 05 2004
  

       nostalgia: not what it used to be
neilp, Oct 05 2004
  

       Please share a description of said cartoon. I must have missed it.
Worldgineer, Oct 05 2004
  

       Sorry for churning this, I just noticed another one of these devices running continuously. This one was installed on the 1st floor in a building in Seattle. Why do you even need a water cooler on the first floor in a city where the ground temperature never reaches 60F?
Worldgineer, Nov 09 2004
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle