Water Efficiency in Buildings: theory and practice

Water efficiency in buildings is an important subject which is increasingly high on the resource management debate. The indiscriminate use of water has physical and environmental consequences and can impact on energy and carbon consumption and ultimately climate change. At present, about half the water put into supply is to meet household demand. Current figures show that the quantity of water used by households in the UK increased by 55% in the last 25 years, although some of this increase has been attributed to population growth, as well as the prevalence of domestic technologies such as washing machines, power showers etc. These levels of consumption in buildings is not sustainable if corresponded with water availability figures, and some geographical areas in the UK, US, parts of Europe, Africa and Asia are already demonstrating considerable water stress. The objective of this book is to primarily collate learning and evidence that can be used to understand and applied for addressing issues pertaining to water efficiency in buildings. More importantly, it collates and presents a much needed multi-disciplinary viewpoint, from architecture to environmental science, to socio-psychology, demonstrating how each of these areas can be applied to promote water efficiency in all areas of the supply and demand spectrum. It will also present ways to engage all the important stakeholders to achieve a systems approach to tackling the main challenges faced locally and globally.