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Abstract The quantification of residential water end uses is an important component of improving the sustainability of urban water infrastructure. Disaggregation and classification methods based on statistical learning are used in research and practice to extract meaningful insights from smart water meter data. These insights can also reflect individual behaviors within the built environment, enabling end-user activity detection from water consumption patterns. In this study, we present an initial framework for classifying residential water end uses and assisting with discerning between perceived typical and atypical water-use behavior in a permanent supportive housing context. Classification schemes, based on fine-resolution temporal flow data, incorporated baseline activity to inform what typical water use was for individuals while also considering general trends in specific end uses such as showers, toilet flushes, and leaks. We found that while atypical activity based on end-use duration and frequency might fall outside the normally-distributed expected value for a period of interest, it need not be the case for all atypical activity. Defining atypical activity based on prescriptive guidelines might not align with normative behavior for an occupant transitioning into housing. Additionally, exogenous variables can affect occupant behavior regarding water end uses and this impact should be accounted for in analytical frameworks. Our findings can specifically inform supportive services provided by stakeholders responsible for the well-being of individuals in their care via non-intrusive, privacy-respecting insights on occupant behavior.
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Understanding water consumption in a semi-permanent residential context through university student housing showers
Abstract Understanding shower habits is critical for developing effective residential water conservation and efficiency strategies. Previous research has focused on single-family homes, but less is known about shower behavior among college-aged individuals in university student housing. This study examines the shower habits of students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, comparing them with U.S. single-family residential households regarding shower duration, time-of-day, and day-of-week. Using Conditional Tabular Generative Adversarial Networks to generate synthetic data, we address sample size limitations and confirm the validity of our results. Our findings reveal that student housing showers tend to be longer in duration and more variable compared to showers in single-family residences. Unlike the predictable routines seen in single-family homes, student housing inhabitants display less consistent showering habits, with different time-of-day patterns that challenge typical conservation incentives. Major shower events also occur more frequently before weekends in student housing. These insights emphasize the need for tailored water conservation strategies in semi-permanent residential settings. We recommend further exploration of targeted interventions, including educational campaigns, real-time feedback mechanisms, and gamification, to foster sustainable shower habits among university students. This study contributes to sustainable water management by providing actionable strategies within a sociotechnical systems lens for enhancing water conservation in semi-permanent residential contexts.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1847404
- PAR ID:
- 10577882
- Publisher / Repository:
- IOP Publishing
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability
- Volume:
- 5
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2634-4505
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: Article No. 015022
- Size(s):
- Article No. 015022
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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