Seasonal Demand Dynamics of Residential Water End-Uses

Autor: Kumudu Rathnayaka, Hector Malano, Shiroma Maheepala, Biju George, Bandara Nawarathna, Meenakshi Arora, Peter Roberts
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2015
Předmět:
Zdroj: Water, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 202-216 (2015)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2073-4441
DOI: 10.3390/w7010202
Popis: Water demand prediction by end-use at an appropriate spatial and temporal resolution is essential for planning water supply systems that will supply water from a diversified set of sources on a fit-for-purpose basis. Understanding seasonal, daily and sub-daily water demand including peak demand by end-uses is an essential planning requirement to implement a fit-for-purpose water supply strategy. Studies in the literature assume that all indoor water uses except evaporative cooler water use are weather independent and do not exhibit seasonal variability. This paper presents an analysis undertaken to examine seasonal variability of residential water end-uses. The analysis was repeated using two sets of data to ensure the validity of findings. The study shows that shower water use is significantly different between winter and summer, in addition to irrigation, evaporative cooler and pool water end-uses, while other water end-uses are not. Weather is shown to be a significant determinant of shower water use; in particular it affects shower duration which increases with lower temperature. Further analysis on shower water use suggests that it is driven by behavioural factors in addition to weather, thus providing useful insights to improve detailed end-use water demand predictions.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals