Project for Water Conservation in the Operation of Standard Pools at Residential Homes and Cottages

"Water is life, and we don't fully appreciate it until the well runs dry." Given that all of Europe is drying up, water will become an increasingly valuable and costly resource. This core insight briefly explains the purpose of producing and selling "Smart Eco Baskets" designed to help reduce water and chemical consumption in standard pool maintenance. The Czech Republic, along with Spain, France, and Germany, is known for its large number of pools—around 800,000 pools of various sizes and shapes, either freestanding or in-ground. Aside from luxury pools and upper-middle-class owners, there are roughly 500,000 pools owned by "average" users who often buy them during sales to make pool ownership affordable. Typically, these pools come with basic filtration systems (often sand filters) and may include a cover or a vacuum. However, maintaining water quality is labor-intensive, requiring regular water testing and chemical adjustments. While some manage this process, many struggle with water quality issues and must put in extra effort to restore their pools to optimal conditions. Crystal-clear water depends on proper care, regular chemical additions (which can be costly), and periodic cleaning of the sand filter. The filter cleaning process involves backwashing, which discharges used water outside the pool and requires refilling with fresh water. Each of these cycles drains and refills about 150–350 liters of water, depending on pool size and filter capacity. The manufacturer recommends doing this once per week, but pools in rural areas or near fields and roads often require twice-weekly cleaning to maintain clear water. Over a season, this can amount to 3–10 cubic meters of water wasted per pool. With 800,000 pools in the Czech Republic, this results in an average of 3–6 million cubic meters of water drained annually! During times of drought, when restrictions on pool usage are common, this waste is especially significant. Our device can reduce this cleaning cycle frequency by about 75%, leading to substantial savings in otherwise wasted water. Furthermore, it reduces chemical use, as each water discharge and refill requires chemical replenishment. Returning to the core message: our target market consists of regular pool owners who cannot afford a control unit (costing 30,000 CZK or more) to monitor and maintain pool water quality automatically. Our "Filtration Grid" and especially the "Smart Eco Basket" fully substitute for this functionality and, as a bonus, save on water use. The Smart Eco Basket, paired with an app linked to the user's mobile phone, will monitor water quality (pH, chlorine levels, temperature, etc.) as well as notify users when the basket is dirty and needs cleaning. This innovative eco basket captures significantly more fine debris than a standard skimmer, which helps keep debris out of the sand filter, reducing the need for frequent cleaning and, consequently, saving water!

This means that we can turn an ordinary pool into a high-end (premium) pool, while our device will cost approximately 5 times less than a conventional control unit. Additionally, the basket replacement is very simple, requires no specialized knowledge, and any pool owner can do it themselves in just one minute.

And if only 5–8% of the current regular pool users (the target group of existing users is approximately 500,000 pools) were to adopt our "Smart Eco Bin" within the first three years, the entire project and all the effort and costs invested in it would be worthwhile. It would have an economic impact benefiting the users, and from an overall perspective (saving on water consumption, particularly public water), it would also have positive effects, including a favorable impact on the environment. Additionally, the assumption is that sales will gradually expand to other existing users, supported by advertising and marketing campaigns.

To these existing users, we also need to add new customers who will be purchasing pools, and over time, we plan to expand to foreign markets as well.

This indicates that we are not building "castles in the air," but are basing our expectations on realistic assumptions of pool owners' interest. Thanks to this device, they can upgrade their regular pool into a premium one, meaning they'll have all the necessary water status information on their phone, without the need for constant physical checks, and they'll also save on pool operation costs—water and chemicals. The return on investment for this device is about 2 seasons, depending on the pool size and filtration system. But most importantly, it provides greater comfort for the user, who will be timely informed about the overall state of the pool water and filtration system, all at a cost that's 5 times cheaper than purchasing the most basic control unit. Moreover, our system will be expandable with additional services through the mobile app in the future.

We are currently negotiating with the University of Hradec Králové for collaboration on the development of the "App."

The Future – What We Are Preparing:

We are also working on a project for "Smart Filtration," which, when combined with the "Smart Eco Bin," will eliminate the need for sand filters and backwashing. This means there will be no, or only minimal, water loss. This is the future!

Additionally, we are developing a project for utilizing rainwater and utility water via the "Eco Container." This system will ensure that water collected, for example, during winter or spring (from snowmelt, spring rains, etc.), remains of high quality (clean and clear) until summer, when water is scarce. The water will be preserved without spoiling and will be usable throughout the year as utility water, serving more purposes than just irrigation. This is the future for residential homes, cottages, and chalets, as well as operational facilities like workshops, warehouses, etc.

(Current rainwater collection containers and tanks already exist, but the water needs to be used quickly. If it stays in the tank for too long, especially in sunlight, it becomes unusable due to cloudiness, odor, and spoilage. In such cases, the water can only be used for irrigation, and even then, handling it may be unpleasant.)