Capturing high-resolution water demand data in commercial buildings

Autor: Peter Melville-Shreeve, Sarah Cotterill, David Butler
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Hydroinformatics, Vol 23, Iss 3, Pp 402-416 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1464-7141
1465-1734
DOI: 10.2166/hydro.2021.103
Popis: Water demand measurements have historically been conducted manually, from meter readings less than once per month. Leading water service providers have begun to deploy smart meters to collect high-resolution data. A low-cost flush counter was developed and connected to a real-time monitoring platform for 119 ultra-low flush toilets in 7 buildings on a university campus to explore how building users influence water demand. Toilet use followed a typical weekly pattern in which weekday use was 92% ± 4 higher than weekend use. Toilet demand was higher during term time and showed a strong, positive relationship with the number of building occupants. Mixed-use buildings tended to have greater variation in toilet use between term time and holidays than office-use buildings. The findings suggest that the flush sensor methodology is a reliable method for further consideration. Supplementary data from the study's datasets will enable practitioners to use captured data for (i) forecast models to inform water resource plans; (ii) alarm systems to automate maintenance scheduling; (iii) dynamic cleaning schedules; (iv) monitoring of building usage rates; (v) design of smart rainwater harvesting to meet demand from real-time data; and (vi) exploring dynamic water pricing models, to incentivise optimal on-site water storage strategies. HIGHLIGHTS A novel, low-cost, high-resolution water demand sensing strategy was tested, by deploying flush counters across seven large campus buildings.; Making such real-time data available could deliver value in improving: water demand forecasts; maintenance strategies; cleaning strategies; building user insights; and optimal water system design.; Water demand varied and was linked to occupancy metrics.;
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
Externí odkaz: