An approach to disaggregating total household water consumption into major end-uses

Abstract

The aim of this project is to assign domestic water consumption to different devices based on the information provided by the water meter. We monitored a sample of Barcelona and Murcia with flow switches that recorded when a particular device was in use. In addition, the water meter readings were recorded every 5 and 1 s, respectively, in Barcelona and Murcia. The initial work used Barcelona data, and the method was later verified and adjusted with the Murcia data. The proposed method employs an algorithm that characterizes the water consumption of each device, using Barcelona to establish the initial parameters which, afterwards, provide information for adjusting the parameters of each household studied. Once the parameters have been adjusted, the algorithm assigns the consumption to each device. The efficacy of the assignation process is summarized in terms of: sensitivity and specificity. The algorithm provides a correct identification rate of between 70 % and 80 %; sometimes even higher, depending on how well the chosen parameters reflect household consumption patterns. Considering the high variability of the patterns and the fact that use is characterized by only the aggregate consumption that the water meter provides, the results are quite satisfactory.