Quantifying the influence of residential water appliance efficiency on average day diurnal demand patterns at an end use level: A precursor to optimised water service infrastructure planning (original) (raw)
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MIND OR MACHINE? Examining the drivers of residential water end-use efficiency
Water (Australia)
Essentially, there are two overarching demand management strategies employed to achieve efficient water consumption in the residential sector. These are: targeting water use behaviour change ("mind") and promoting the use of water-efficient technologies ("machine"). Using detailed water end-use data and qualitative methods, this paper describes the role that each of these strategies has played over the last few years, using data from 250 residential properties located in the south-east corner of Queensland.
2012
The aim of the South East Queensland Residential End Use Study (SEQREUS) was to address the research gap on water end usage by way of generating a high resolution data registry of water end uses and using such a database to explore the relationships and influences of residential water consumption from a bottom up approach. Such data can be used to optimise future demand management strategies. Mains water end uses in a sample of 252 residential dwellings located within South East Queensland (SEQ) were measured using a combination of high resolution smart meters and data loggers and a parallel social survey design comprising a questionnaire, a stock (appliance) audit and self-reported water diary for each household. An array of detailed analyses were conducted from the subsequent data registry based on three separate two-week monitoring periods (2 x winter and 1 x summer). Impacts on water consumption from water-efficient technology (eg, star rated washing machines, flow regulated taps and showers), socio-demographics (household composition, income and education and perceptions and attitudes towards of water conservation on household, per capita, diurnal and peak demand water consumption are presented, including the variation in water end uses on a daily and seasonal basis. We conclude with some policy considerations that evolved from our data analysis and that may assist in optimising future demand management strategies. For example, it is recommended to target households with large families with young children or teenagers, as these homes are often associated with high shower and tap usage.
Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 2011
In response to increasing water demand, Miami-Dade County, FL, USA implemented water conservation incentives for the residential customers. These incentives include rebates and unit exchange programs for showerheads, toilets and clothes washers. In this study, impacts of the water conservation incentives on water demand were analyzed. Water savings and water use trend shifts of the customers were evaluated during the first four years after the implementation of water conservation practices. About 6-14% reduction in water demand has been observed during the first and second years. The water savings continued during the third and fourth years at a lower percentage. Water savings for water use efficiency measures were about 28 (10.9%), 34.7 (13.3%) and 39.7 (14.5%) gallons per household per day for the showerhead, toilet, and clothes washer programs; respectively. Adoption of more than one type of water efficiency appliance contributed to additional saving in residential water use.
Water-and energy-ef cient households are a necessary element of sustainable cities. Water-related energy usage in households is a point of overlap where water and energy utilities could work together. Improving the combined ef ciency of water and energy management requires a better understanding of the interrelationships between these systems and associated water and energy use. It also requires collaboration with householders. In order to progress understanding of water-energy links within households, a research project has commenced with the Smart Water Fund and The University of Queensland. With funding support from the Australian Research Council, the research focuses on elucidating and quantifying water-carbon-energy links in individual households in Melbourne, as well as collective groups of households in a district. The work is a new initiative for Australian water utilities, in that it looks in detail at how water industry actions and policies in uence energy use in private households. In this way, the work goes beyond the boundary of traditional water utility energy use analysis, which typically assesses the energy implications directly connected with the utilities themselves, such as the energy demands of the water and wastewater infrastructure and assets. The project runs between 2013 and 2016. This paper presents the background and objectives of the work, including preliminary results. BACKGROUND: THE WATER-ENERGY CHALLENGE FOR AUSTRALIA The growing energy demand for water and wastewater services provision in Australian cities poses a large management challenge: by 2030, energy consumption is expected to grow to 200-250% of 2007 levels (Kenway et al., 2008b; Kenway et al., 2014 (In press, accepted 12 November 2013); Kenway et al., 2008a). If the water sector is to adopt the Australian Government target to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 80% below 2000 levels by 2050 (Australian Government Department of Climate Change and Energy Ef ciency, 2012), then the equivalent of over 90% of the projected 2030 energy consumption levels needs to be cut, or the GHG intensity of the energy used similarly reduced, or offsets paid (Kenway, 2013). The total energy bill paid by water utilities is anticipated to rise even faster. Because energy costs are rising, the energy expenditure of Australian water utilities is anticipated to grow to 300-500% of 2007 levels by 2030 (Cook et al., 2012). This represents a signi cant business risk to both the water sector and to communities relying on energyintensive water services (Victorian Water Industry Association, 2011).
Water Demand Management Study: Baseline Survey of Household Water Use (Part A)
The Urban Water Security Research Alliance (UWSRA) is a $50 million partnership over five years between the Queensland Government, CSIRO's Water for a Healthy Country Flagship, Griffith University and The University of Queensland. The Alliance has been formed to address South-East Queensland's emerging urban water issues with a focus on water security and recycling. The program will bring new research capacity to South-East Queensland tailored to tackling existing and anticipated future issues to inform the implementation of the Water Strategy.
Assessment of Future Water Efficiency Measures
This research report “Assessment of Future Water Efficiency Measures” has been developed by the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF), University of Technology Sydney, on behalf of the three Melbourne retailers, Melbourne Water, Barwon Water and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. The rapid study does not aim to be exhaustive but to begin to gather information to assist in taking stock of the current efficiency situation and to look on the horizon in terms of how efficiency might change. It aims to gather information that will be useful to assist in testing alternative potential scenarios of long term demand forecasts and new potential short and long term efficiency program opportunities that can be actioned when deemed appropriate into the future. There is significant additional conservation potential available as we look to the future in terms of new more efficient appliances and ways to interact with customers by tapping into new technical and behavioural opportunities. The rapid study has scanned and collated information on the programs undertaken both in Victoria and interstate, and to a limited extent internationally, together with information on the latest innovations in terms of water efficient appliances, behaviour change and digital metering interfaces. The research draws on recent research conducted by ISF, information provided by the funding agencies, information gleaned from ISF’s international network of advisors, and interviews with water efficiency experts, manufacturers and practitioners.
Impacts of water efficient appliances on the design of the water supply infrastructure
Water efficient appliances are proven measures of reducing householders' peak water demand on cities' mains water supply network and consequently provide benefits to the water provider, in terms of augmentation deferrals and reduced sized infrastructure. However, while acknowledged in the literature, the actual benefits have not been thoroughly investigated and quantified. The paper aims to demonstrate how the installation of water efficient appliances would affect the design of the water supply network. Using an updated methodology incorporating end-use data from smart water meter, peak day water demand profiles were developed for the baseline scenario (Scenario A), representing the typical building code mandated for new dwellings constructed in the region of Queensland, Australia, and for households fitted with higher efficiency water appliances (Scenario B). Hydraulic model runs were conducted for both scenarios over various planning horizons to determine the scheduling o...
Implications of resource-efficient technology on peak water demand and water-related energy demand
2012
This paper uses a detailed water end use data registry generated from the South East Queensland Residential End Use Study (SEQREUS) to examine (a) peak hourly and daily demand, and (b) water-related energy demand. The impact of water-efficient fixtures and appliances, as required by current building codes in Queensland, is also explored. The four peak demand days selected had increasing peak day factors of 1.3, 1.5, 1.6 and 1.7. The range of these values is slightly lower than those used in the Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) guidelines where the peak day factors range from 1.5 to 2.3, suggesting that the frequency and volume of peaking factors may be lower than those that are currently being used for network distribution design; due likely to the high penetration of water-efficient technology and growing water conservation awareness by consumers. This type of knowledge can facilitate the optimisation of infrastructure design and sizing and inform the subsequent deferral of such assets. In terms of water-related energy demand, it was found that the hot water components of showers, and to a lesser extent, taps and clothes washers were the most influential. Shower energy consumption for electric cylinder hot water systems (HWS) and solar electric-boosted HWS was 810 and 351 kWh/p/year, respectively. The type of hot water system was significant in dictating the volume of energy-related carbon emissions, with the results confirming the significant impact that electric storage water heating has on total household energy consumption and related carbon emissions. Substantial savings can be achieved by substituting water (eg, high star rating clothes washers and shower heads) and energy (eg, solar hot water system) efficient appliances in the home. Knowledge on the end uses that are influencing peak water and energy demand can: 1) facilitate the optimisation of infrastructure design and sizing and inform the decision process regarding subsequent deferral of these expensive assets; and 2) underpin future sustainability codes for new buildings.
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2016
Residential resource use efficiency and management is a subject of interest to a number of fields spanning the physical and social sciences. Energy use for residential water heating in Australia is some five to eleven times more than the energy required to deliver urban water services. However, little is known about which activities within households contribute most significantly to water-related energy use (WRE). This work quantifies WRE use in individual households, and identifies household characteristics which contribute significantly to variation. Empirical data were collected through in-home audits, interviews and high-resolution end-use water flow meters for five households in Melbourne, and two in Brisbane, Australia. This was used to characterise 139 parameters describing household occupancy characteristics, behaviours, technologies, and structural and environmental aspects of influence. Mathematical material flow analysis (MMFA) modelling was conducted for individual water and energy use subsystems within each household. WRE use ranged from 7 to 21 kWh hh-1 d-1 (13-24% of total household energy use in Melbourne and 76-79% in Brisbane). Detailed end use analysis of the five Melbourne households showed that shower use (11-61% WRE), hot water system efficiency losses (8-31% WRE) and clothes washer usage (4-17% WRE) contributed most to differences in WRE between households. Findings highlighted shower use as a consistent influence on WRE across households, and suggest further investigation of shower programs as a potentially effective demand management measure for both water and energy in households. The work highlights the importance of consistent messaging for both water and energy efficiency, and suggests that a focus on both human and technical characteristics of households is needed for effective management of combined water and energy use.