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Alarming visual display monitors affecting shower end use water and energy conservation in Australian residential households

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  • Willis, Rachelle M.
  • Stewart, Rodney A.
  • Panuwatwanich, Kriengsak
  • Jones, Sarah
  • Kyriakides, Andreas

Abstract

Sustainable urban water consumption has become a critical issue in Australian built environments due to the country's dry climate and increasingly variable rainfall. Residential households have the potential to conserve water, especially across discretionary end uses such as showering. The advent of high resolution smart meters and data loggers allows for the disaggregation of water flow recordings into a registry of water end use events (e.g. showers, washing machine and taps). This study firstly reports on a water consumption end use study sample of 151 households conducted in the Gold Coast, Australia, with a focus on daily per capita shower end use distributions. A sub-sample of 44 households within the greater sample was recruited for the installation of an alarming visual display monitor locked at 40L consumption for bathroom showers. All sub-sample shower end use event durations, volumes and flow rates were then analysed and compared utilising independent sample t-tests pre- and post-intervention. The installation of the shower monitor instigated a statistically significant mean reduction of 15.40L (27%) in shower event volumes. Monetary savings resulting from modelled water and energy conservation resulted in a 1.65-year payback period for the device. Furthermore, conservative modelling indicated that the citywide implementation of the device could yield 3% and 2.4% savings in total water and energy consumption, respectively. Moreover, a range of non-monetary benefits were identified, including the deferment of water and energy supply infrastructure, reduced resource inflationary pressures, and climate change mitigation, to name a few. Resource consumption awareness devices like the one evaluated in this study assist resource consumers to take ownership of their usage and individually tackle individualistic and/or society driven conservation goals, ultimately helping to reduce the ecological footprint of built environments.

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  • Willis, Rachelle M. & Stewart, Rodney A. & Panuwatwanich, Kriengsak & Jones, Sarah & Kyriakides, Andreas, 2010. "Alarming visual display monitors affecting shower end use water and energy conservation in Australian residential households," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 54(12), pages 1117-1127.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:54:y:2010:i:12:p:1117-1127
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2010.03.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ueno, Tsuyoshi & Sano, Fuminori & Saeki, Osamu & Tsuji, Kiichiro, 2006. "Effectiveness of an energy-consumption information system on energy savings in residential houses based on monitored data," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 166-183, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Makki, Anas A. & Stewart, Rodney A. & Beal, Cara D. & Panuwatwanich, Kriengsak, 2015. "Novel bottom-up urban water demand forecasting model: Revealing the determinants, drivers and predictors of residential indoor end-use consumption," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 15-37.
    2. Gao, Hongchao & Wei, Tong & Lou, Inchio & Yang, Zhifeng & Shen, Zhenyao & Li, Yingxia, 2014. "Water saving effect on integrated water resource management," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 50-58.
    3. Mainali, Bandita & Ngo, Huu Hao & Guo, Wenshan & Pham, Thi Thu Nga & Johnston, Archie, 2011. "Feasibility assessment of recycled water use for washing machines in Australia through SWOT analysis," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 87-91.
    4. Lee, Mengshan & Tansel, Berrin & Balbin, Maribel, 2011. "Influence of residential water use efficiency measures on household water demand: A four year longitudinal study," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 1-6.
    5. Gurung, Thulo Ram & Stewart, Rodney A. & Sharma, Ashok K. & Beal, Cara D., 2014. "Smart meters for enhanced water supply network modelling and infrastructure planning," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 34-50.
    6. Koo, A Mi & Kim, Ju-Hee & Yoo, Seung-Hoon, 2022. "Household willingness to pay for a smart water metering and monitoring system: The case of South Korea," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    7. Liu, Ariane & Giurco, Damien & Mukheibir, Pierre, 2015. "Motivating metrics for household water-use feedback," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 29-46.
    8. Carragher, Byron J. & Stewart, Rodney A. & Beal, Cara D., 2012. "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," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 81-90.

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