10 research outputs found
Urban futures and the code for sustainable homes
Copyright © 2012 ICE Publishing Ltd. Permission is granted by ICE Publishing to print one copy for personal use. Any other use of these PDF files is subject to reprint fees.A 6?6 ha (66 000 m2) regeneration site, commonly referred to as Luneside East, is to be turned from a run down,
economically under-achieving area of Lancaster, UK, into a new, distinctive, vibrant, sustainable quarter of the city. As
a result several aspects of water planning for 350 new homes and 8000 m2 of workspace needed to be considered
before any infrastructure investment was undertaken. This included assessment of the future capacity requirements
(i.e. inflows and outflows) for water infrastructure (i.e. mains water supply, wastewater disposal, rainwater storage
and stormwater disposal) much of which will be located underground. This paper looks at the implications of various
water management strategies on the Luneside East site (e.g. water-efficient appliances, greywater recycling and
rainwater harvesting) in line with current policy measures that focus on technology changes alone (e.g. the code for
sustainable homes). Based on these findings this paper outlines some basic implications for technological resilience
discussed in the context of four âworld viewsâ â that is, the urban futures scenarios considered in this special issue.
Conclusions are drawn as to how far this can take engineers, planners and developers in understanding and planning
for resilient water infrastructure within a development like Luneside East
A preliminary investigation of water usage behavior in single-family homes
As regional drought conditions continue deteriorating around the world, residential water use has been brought into the built environment spotlight. Nevertheless, the understanding of water use behavior in residential buildings is still limited. This paper presents data analytics and results from monitoring data of daily water use (DWU) in 50 single-family homes in Texas, USA. The results show the typical frequency distribution curve of the DWU per household and indicate personal income, education level and energy use of appliances all have statistically significant effects on the DWU per capita. Analysis of the water-intensive use demonstrates the residents tend to use more water in post-vacation days. These results help generate awareness of water use behavior in homes. Ultimately, this research could support policy makers to establish a water use baseline and inform water conservation programs