Water Heaters: Can we make them better?

The prompt for this graduate project was to select an everyday object and improve it. I chose the ordinary water heater — a device that has remained largely unchanged for decades.

Water heaters are notorious for failing without warning. By connecting a water heater to a smartphone, users could receive real‑time updates on its condition along with recommendations for improving efficiency and reducing costs. This concept could integrate into a broader home‑monitoring app that tracks the health of all Wi‑Fi–enabled appliances.