Evaluation of the impact of replacing ordinary by water saving plumbing fixtures in water consumption

ABSTRACT

Water conservation is a matter of great importance. It is directly linked to the quality of life of society and the economic growth of cities. In this context, water saving plumbing fixtures are an option for reduction of consumption in buildings. This study aims to assess whether the replacement of ordinary plumbing fixtures with water saving ones in a University campus has an influence on water consumption. Besides the replacement of the plumbing fixtures, the influence of other variables such as temperature and number of students is analysed. Water meters were installed in one of the campus buildings in order to measure the isolated consumption in toilets, taps, urinals and drinking fountains. The study was divided in two stages: metering before the intervention and after the replacement of ordinary equipment with water saving devices (lavatory taps and toilets) and adjust of drinking fountains flow. For statistical analysis, a multiple linear regression model was used with consumption as the dependent variable and plumbing fixture replacement, number of students and daily temperature as the explanatory variables. The results show that the replacement of taps was significant for the total daily water consumption in the building, with 19.77% of reduction. According to an individual analysis of the plumbing fixtures, the replacement proved to be significant for the reduction of water consumption.

Keywords:
water conservation; water consumption; water saving plumbing fixtures; building systems; university campus