Developing personalized end use datasets with an internet-of-things water diary

Abstract Increasing water use efficiency through demand side management techniques, such as water pricing and conservation, can alleviate water supply shortages and reduce the financial burden of expanding water supply sources. Demand side management programs rely on estimates of the average water user to design incentives and educational information. Using estimates of the average water use, however, neglects nuances in individual water uses, and personalized end use datasets are needed to understand differences between water users. Personalized end use datasets are typically collected using written water diaries or living laboratories, but these approaches are unreliable, intrusive, and expensive. Further, these methods are not typically applied to delineate the differences in water use among individual users, but collect water data for one user or the household as a unit. This research develops a system for collecting personalized end use datasets to specify the volume of water used per person at each fixture in a house. The electronic device for residential indoor personal water sensing (EDRIPS) is a deployable button array that is placed at each fixture and allows individual residents to quickly and conveniently log water end uses. EDRIPS records water fixture usage through a wireless local area network, and the EDRIPS button arrays are paired with smart meters that record trace water flows at the meter. EDRIPS was deployed at four households for a period of approximately four weeks to collect personalized end use datasets. Datasets report the volume of water that is consumed at each fixture, and analysis explores differences in water use for different water consumers. The EDRIPS system can be used to develop insights about nuances in water use among individual consumers to better inform water pricing and conservation programs.