Smart Grid and Innovative Frontiers in Telecommunications. Third International Conference, SmartGIFT 2018, Auckland, New Zealand, April 23-24, 2018, Proceedings

Research Article

IoT Based Experimental Study to Modify Water Consumption Behavior of Domestic Users

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  • @INPROCEEDINGS{10.1007/978-3-319-94965-9_20,
        author={Aneeq-ur Rehman and Reeba Raza and Naveed Hassan and Yuren Zhou and Rui Liu and Benny Ng and Chau Yuen},
        title={IoT Based Experimental Study to Modify Water Consumption Behavior of Domestic Users},
        proceedings={Smart Grid and Innovative Frontiers in Telecommunications. Third International Conference, SmartGIFT 2018, Auckland, New Zealand, April 23-24, 2018, Proceedings},
        proceedings_a={SMARTGIFT},
        year={2018},
        month={7},
        keywords={Internet of Things Consumer behaviour Feedback Water conservation},
        doi={10.1007/978-3-319-94965-9_20}
    }
    
  • Aneeq-ur Rehman
    Reeba Raza
    Naveed Hassan
    Yuren Zhou
    Rui Liu
    Benny Ng
    Chau Yuen
    Year: 2018
    IoT Based Experimental Study to Modify Water Consumption Behavior of Domestic Users
    SMARTGIFT
    Springer
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-94965-9_20
Aneeq-ur Rehman1,*, Reeba Raza1,*, Naveed Hassan1,*, Yuren Zhou2,*, Rui Liu2,*, Benny Ng2,*, Chau Yuen2,*
  • 1: Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
  • 2: Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)
*Contact email: 16100212@lums.edu.pk, 17060006@lums.edu.pk, naveed.hassan@lums.edu.pk, yuren_zhou@mymail.sutd.edu.sg, rui_liu@mymail.sutd.edu.sg, benny_ng@sutd.edu.sg, yuenchau@sutd.edu.sg

Abstract

In this paper, we present the results of a small experimental study to understand and quantify the impact of real time feedback on water consumption behavior inside buildings. We develop a low cost water monitoring node, which can be conveniently installed without plumbing requirements on water fixtures found in typical households and commercial buildings. In our experiment, we installed the developed Internet of Things (IoT) node on a kitchen sink in a commercial building. The sink was used primarily for washing mugs, plates, and making tea & coffee. We collected, analyzed and compared the data of different users for different activities (e.g., washing mugs and plates) to understand their water consumption pattern. Then, we provided real time feedback for three weeks to two major water consumers after every activity about potential water wastage. We observed a significant improvement in the water consumption behavior of these users (water wastage reduction up to 50%). This study clearly demonstrates the utility of low cost IoT based solutions and real time feedback in modifying water consumption behavior of domestic users.