PRESS RELEASE: Local Startup Helping Households Save Water And Energy, Wins Smart Drop Certified Excellence Award
TouchGrid wins Smart Drop Certified Excellence Award for ShowerStar, helping Australian households take shorter showers to save water and energy and reduce their bills.
Perth, WA – October 17, 2025 – TouchGrid Pty Ltd (TouchGrid) a West Australian startup in the water and energy efficiency industry announced it has won the 2025 Smart Drop Excellence Award for its ground-breaking ShowerStar product.
TouchGrid is the inventor of ShowerStar, a product designed to make people mindful to reduce their shower time each time they shower. Reducing shower time saves water and energy for households, our communities and the environment.
“Water is a precious resource and hot water is even more precious as it consumes so much energy to heat it up,” said Bernard Emby, CEO of TouchGrid. Emby added “Many Australian cities are experiencing pressure on their water supplies due to expanding populations, drought and climate change. We’re all attempting to save water and reduce our carbon emissions. Shortening shower duration is one of the simplest and easiest ways to achieve this with the added benefit of reducing household bills”.
ShowerStar is a simple DIY install product that connects to a shower head or pipe in minutes. It automatically senses when a shower starts and provides simple traffic light style alerts at the beginning, middle and end of a shower. Studies have shown a reduction in shower duration of 30-50%.
“We’re really grateful to The Water Conservancy for this award and hope it encourages an increased focus on the enormous opportunity for water and energy savings by simply promoting behaviour change when showering,” said Emby.
About TouchGrid
TouchGrid’s mission is to change the way people shower around the world. We develop smart, intuitive behavioural products such as ShowerStar that teach everyday people to change their daily behaviour to save energy and water. Our Australian products are designed to seamlessly integrate into everyday life, offering practical solutions that empower individuals and businesses to make impactful changes in their resource consumption habits.
Changing human behaviour is one of the most powerful mechanisms we have to save vast quantities of our precious natural resources. When we act together, we have an incredible opportunity to deliver impact at scale. Your daily choices matter! For more information visit: https://touchgrid.com/
About The Water Conservancy
Smart Drop Certified is managed and delivered by The Water Conservancy – Australia’s leading water efficiency not for profit. It is committed to helping all Australians be conscious of their relationship with water, to value it, understand it and use it efficiently. For more information visit www.thewaterconservancy.org
