Characterizing Water and Water-Related Energy in Multi-Unit Residential Structures with High Resolution Smart Meter Data

As global populations continue to increase and become more urbanized, relationships between water and energy are becoming more important. Both are limited in supply, but both are required to satisfy the needs of residential water users. In the context of urbanization and residential water use, domestic hot water (DHW), which is a resource consumed in nearly every residential structure in the developed world, represents one of the most significant water-related uses of energy. However, quantifying hot water use and the energy associated with heating it can be difficult. Water and energy use are typically evaluated separately, and paired datasets that enable direct evaluation of hot water use and its associated energy consumption are rare. Yet, quantifying water and water-related energy use are important in better understanding how they are linked and in identifying opportunities for conservation. We collected high resolution water use and water temperature data within five multi-unit residential structures on a college campus and then developed a water and energy budget model for quantifying water and water-related energy consumption within each building. Results showed varying behavioral consumption patterns across the buildings. Results also showed tradeoffs between data volume and ability to quantify use associated with sampling and data recording frequency. This resource is the result of an effort to establish reproducibility of the methods undertaken to quantify and characterize water and water-related energy with high-resolution smart meter data in multi-unit residential structures. This undertaking was a part of the research obligations associated with a Masters thesis completed at Utah State University in Aug 2020.