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Out of the shower – now!

A hot shower is easy to disappear into, especially in the colder winter months. Amidst the water's warm embrace, it's also easy to forget how costly long showers can be, in utility bills and to the environment.

It is no surprise, then, that three students at Tufts University in Massachusetts have developed a showerhead that lets you know when it's time to get out of the shower. The Uji showerhead is fitted with LED lights that gradually fade from green to red, rather like a stoplight, encouraging users to take shorter, more energy efficient showers.

In practice it has been shown to shorten average shower time by 10 per cent, and pay for itself in energy savings within 7 months in a home setting. It apparently took just three months to pay off when tested in a university setting, where students swiftly developed shorter shower habits due to the subtle psychological hint.