ShowerStart: Shower Smart!Editor's note: Red, Green and Blue will take a break this week, but that doesn't mean Ryan and Jimmy are! RG&B will return, though, in a new format that we really think you'll like…

It is not often that you run across a green item that is painless to use, inexpensive, and such a simple idea that you hit yourself and say, “Darn, why didn’t I think of that?”. The new ShowerStart is that item.

This neat little gadget saves time, energy and money without one ounce of sacrifice. The idea is to minimize wasted hot water that results from turning on the shower and purging the cold water from the waterlines. You simply turn on the shower and ShowerStart monitors the water temperature for you until it’s hot; then it slows the flow to a slight trickle. All of that expensive wasted hot water that might otherwise continue to run is conserved, as is the time you might have wasted monitoring the water while heating up. Once you are ready for the shower you then climb in, flip the convenient switch on the side of the device and you are showering as normal with the same pressure as your ordinary shower head.

After two weeks of use my wife and I have had the same reaction: this little guy is the most innovative thing since Tivo and has now replaced our toaster oven as the top rated green appliance of the household. She likes it for the convenience in that she saves at least 5 minutes a day during her critical morning routine by just turning on ShowerStart and letting it monitor the hot water; after she’s brushed her teeth, she returns to a hot shower and a hot water tank that’s not already half empty. I like it for the energy savings in that restricted flow shower heads are not one of my green sacrifices. Without ShowerStart, several gallons of precious hot water a minute can be wasted literally down the drain.

One of the nicest things about ShowerStart is that there are no complicated electronics and no batteries. The design is so simple it is astounding. I’ve been tempted to take it apart to see how it works, but I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to put it back together again and we just can’t take the chance! I suspect what I would find would be a simple bimetallic or Nitinol valve that responds to the temperature of the water by shutting down the flow to just a trickle. After the water is hot, flipping the convenient switch on the side releases the flow. The whole process resets automatically when the shower is turned off. It’s conservation you don’t even have to think about!

For those interested in aesthetics, it is a beautiful and unobtrusive design. From the fit and finish to the attractive but minimal packaging (perforated for easy opening – thank you very much) this is a top quality item you will enjoy and want to give as a gift. ShowerStart is inexpensive and easy to install. It saves time, it saves energy, it saves money and requires no sacrifice to use. As the Rational Environmentalist, this is my top-rated green item so far this century!