Bringing a Connected Water Heater to Market

It takes both groundbreaking tech and visionary design to create an industry-disrupting brand, which is precisely what Heatworks has achieved through its partnership with frog. Heatworks approached frog in 2016 with its revolutionary Ohmic Array Technology, which heats water with unparalleled speed and efficiency, and challenged frog to help design their brand identity, product strategy, and hardware/software integration plan. Working in close collaboration with Heatworks, frog helped deliver Heatworks’ MODEL 3 smart home water heater to market in just nine months.

The MODEL 3 system’s integrated smartphone app gives users real-time control over their water and energy use, bringing consumption habits to the forefront to reduce waste and save users up to 40 percent of their home water heating bill. By bringing water heating into the connected home, Heatworks was able to create a memorable product experience in a largely overlooked consumer category. But the MODEL 3 was only the beginning.

Limitless Possibilities Unlocked with Technology Interpretation

Inspired by the power of Heatworks’ Ohmic Array technology, frog’s industrial design team embarked on a process of technology interpretation to envision further applications and uses. Going beyond the client’s initial ask, this process aimed to leverage the technological capabilities of Heatworks’ core technology to deliver completely new value propositions and experiences for businesses and consumers alike. Through this process, frog created two new product concepts for Heatworks, opening up new possible revenue streams and disrupting the consumer home appliance market. 

The first product to emerge from this process was the Tetra dishwasher, which launched as a major crowd-favorite at CES 2019. This sleek countertop dishwasher aims to address some of the major flaws in standard dishwasher designs that frog discovered through human-centered design research. By creating a dishwasher compact enough to live on the countertop, frog addressed two of the greatest drawbacks of standard dishwasher design: young users with small households find them too large to fill, and older users find them uncomfortable to load and unload. Both groups resort to hand washing, which research demonstrates uses roughly ten times more water than machine washing. The final product features interchangeable trays for various loading configurations, a transparent top that reduces visual bulk, and a striking color palette that incorporates Heatworks’ branding. At CES 2019, the Tetra dishwasher won the prestigious Most Innovative Design award, along with multiple press mentions including Time Magazine and c|net.

The second new product to emerge from frog’s technology interpretation process was the Duo carafe, a revolutionary water system that combines on-demand hot water, precision temperature control in a beautiful and efficient countertop appliance. At CES 2020, the Duo carafe received attention from WIRED, House Beautiful, and Mental Floss as one of the most interesting new gadgets at the show, further solidifying Heatworks’ reputation as a technological innovator and visionary home appliance brand.