In the first part of this thesis the basic information about the losses of water and their reporting are described. There are presented the means and methods of reducing water losses and their suitability for use. Finally, general information about water meters are presented and the UFR device is briefly described. The second part of the thesis is devoted to testing water meter and UFR device on specific water connection in a family house. The thesis resulted in the author's general recommendations for owners and operators of water supply networks.

This thesis acknowledges the increasingly important issue of global freshwater scarcity. It focuses on water consumption in private households and examines whether social nudging, specifically the focus theory of normative conduct, can serve as a tool to reduce it. This is examined through action research conducted on the island of Gotland, Sweden, in cooperation with the local major housing company GotlandsHem. Despite some limitations, the findings show with a significance of 0.033 that, on average, almost 50 litres of water less were used weekly by each household after two social nudging interventions. This corresponds to 7,472.99 litres for all 151 nudged households. The findings show that the research design represents a way for housing companies to use the focus theory of normative conduct from the field of social nudging to reduce their tenants’ water consumption.

Water scarcity is a growing problem on Earth. One of the goals in Agenda 2030, whichall of the UN members adapted is to make clean water accessible by everyone and ensuresustainable water withdrawals. In order to take a step towards the solution, a companynamed Quandify has developed smart water meters to measure households’ water consumptionwhich can be installed by anyone.In this bachelor’s thesis, the author collaborates with Quandify to develop a proofof concept (POC) to investigate if it was possible to create a mobile phone applicationthat could help residents reduce their water consumption. The author uses state of artsuggestions in persuasive technology literature and usability heuristics for user interactiondesign and implements it into the application to increase the chance of user behaviourchange towards water consumption.The result is a mobile phone application where the users get inspiration and tips onhow to reduce their water consumption and lets the users see their water consumptionin real-time. The report also includes a small POC user study to rate the mobile phoneapplication with respect to usability heuristics.

Managing water in urban areas is an ever increasingly complex challenge. Technology enables sustainable urban water management and with integrated smart metering solutions, massive amounts of water consumption data from the end users can be collected. However, the possibility of generating data from the end user holds no value in itself. It is with the use of data analysis the vast amount of the collected data can provide more insightful information creating potential benefits. It is recognized that a deeper understanding of the end user could potentially provide benefits for operational managers as well as for the end users. A single case study of a data set containing high frequency end user water consumption data from rental apartments has been conducted, where the data set was analyzed in order to see what possible information that could be extracted and interpreted based on an exploratory data analysis (EDA). Furthermore, an interview with the operational manager of the buildings under study as well as a literature review have been carried out in order to understand how the gathered data is used today and to which contexts it could be extrapolated to provide potential benefits at a building level. The results suggests that the EDA is a powerful method approach when starting out without strong preconception of the data under study and have successfully revealed patterns and a fundamental understanding of the data and its structure. Through analysis, variations over time, water consumption patterns and excessive water users have been identified as well as a leak identification process. Even more challenging than to make meaning of the data is to trigger actions, decisions and measures based on the data analysis. The unveiled information could be applied for an improved operational building management, to empower the customers, for business and campaign opportunities as well as for an integrated decision support system. To summarize, it is concluded that the usage of smart water metering data holds an untapped opportunity to save water, energy as well as money. In the drive towards a more sustainable and smarter city, smart water meter data from end users have the potential to enable smarter building management as well as smarter water services.

En stark motivering till omställning från icke-förnybar till förnybar energi är ökningen av elförbrukning i världen, med målet att minska klimatpåverkan. Denna elförbrukning förväntas stiga från dagens 140 TWh till 190 TWh år 2045 i Sverige. I och med detta etableras nu konceptet Co-Living på den svenska bostadsmarknaden vilket innebär att människor delar på hemmet. I denna studie undersöktes en testbädd på KTH Live-In Lab där olika bostadskonfigurationer har granskats, där den första konfigurationen var singelboenden och den sista är Co-Living. Syftet med studien var att undersöka de boendes beteendeförändringar med avseende på resursförbrukning i hemmet och undersöka om det gick att se en skillnad mellan konfigurationerna. Resurserna som undersöktes var el och vatten. Studien utfördes genom att undersöka data för el- och varmvattenförbrukning samt aktiveringar och användningstid för dusch och tvättställ. Mätperioderna var på tre månader och innefattade fyra boenden i varje konfiguration. Resultatet visar en ökning i Co-Living, av elförbrukning per person på cirka 12,5% under 2021. Vattenförbrukningen per person visade en ökning på ca 56%. Det gick även att se att antalet aktiveringar, per person, för dusch och tvättställ steg med 41%. Sist i resultatet steg användningstiden, per person, för dusch och tvättställ med 132%. Slutsatsen av studien visar en märkbar ökning av resursförbrukning hos boenden i det studerade Co-Living jämfört med singelboenden. Men det finns en osäkerhet om denna förändring var på grund av Co-Living då exempelvis Covid-19 har visat sig kunna ha stor påverkan på resultatet. / One of the strong reasons for converting to renewable energy sources is the increasing amount of resource usage, with the goal to reduce the climate impact of it. The electricity usage is expected to rise from today’s 140 TWh to 190 TWh until year 2045 in Sweden. With this, the concept of Co-Living is now being established on the housing market. The concept is based on people sharing an accommodation. In this study, obtained data from a testbed called Live-In Lab was investigated. The data is obtained from different building configurations of accommodations, where the first one is single households and the last one is Co-Living. The purpose of this study was to examine the resident’s behavioral changes that affected the resource usage, to see if there were differences between the different configurations. The examined resources were electricity and water. The study was conducted by examining data for electricity and water usage, also usage time and activations for shower and basin. Data was collected for periods of three months and there were four tenants in each configuration. The results show that the usage, per person, of electricity increased by 12,5%, and water by 56% in 2021. Noticeable was also that the number of activations, per person, for shower and basin increased by 41%. Lastly the usage time for shower and basin increased by 132% per person. The conclusion for this study is that there is a noticeable increase of resource usage in the investigated Co-Living, comparing with single households. But there is a great uncertainty regarding Co-Living being the main reason for this difference, as Covid-19, for example, also has had a strong impact on resource usage.

Understanding the future of a Large Technical System (LTS) through a sociotechnical analysis is a complex notion. The authors will investigate the phenomenon by studying residential water consumption in Sweden. Although Sweden has great access to raw water, compared to many other countries, it does not justify the fact that consumption patterns have to be unsustainable. To perceive the future, one will need to have knowledge of history. Therefore, this thesis has identified 11 drivers that will affect future residential water consumption. From these 11 drivers, the authors have posed four future scenarios for residential water consumption. The top 3 identified drivers are connected to behaviour and awareness. Thus, implying individuals' responsibility and accountability will be of greater significance for the sustainable development of residential water consumption. For this research, the authors have adopted a framework based on the application of LTS, Multi-Level Perspective (MLP), Scenario building, PESTLE, and Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA). The authors have conducted a qualitative study, gathering data through a literature study and semi-structured interviews. The 18 interviewees covered a broad spectrum of knowledge, experiences, and general interest in water. By understanding the dynamics of the system and drivers, the authors will be able to present the gathered knowledge to stakeholders for possible strategic decisions. / Att förstå framtiden för ett stort tekniskt system (LTS) genom en socioteknisk analys innebär stor komplexitet. Detta kommer att undersökas genom att studera hushållens vattenförbrukning i Sverige. Även om Sverige har stor tillgång till råvatten, jämfört med många andra länder, berättigar det inte förekommandet av ohållbara konsumtionsmönster. För att öka förståelsen av framtiden måste en ha kunskap om historien. Därför har denna avhandling identifierat 11 drivkrafter som kommer att påverka den framtida hushållens vattenförbrukning. Från dessa 11 drivkrafter har författarna formulerat fyra framtida scenarier för hushållens vattenförbrukning. De tre högst rankade identifierade drivkrafterna är kopplade till beteende och medvetenhet. Detta antyder på att individens enskilda ansvar och skyldigheter är av större betydelse för en hållbar utveckling av hushållens vattenförbrukning. För denna forskning har författarna använt sig av ett teoretiskt ramverk som bygger på tillämpningen av LTS, Multi-Level Perspective (MLP), Scenario building, PESTLE and Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA). Författarna har genomfört en kvalitativ studie, där insamling av data härstammar från den genomförda litteraturstudien och 18 semi-strukturerade intervjuer. De 18 intervjukandidaterna täckte ett brett spektrum av kunskap, erfarenhet och intresse av vatten. Genom att skapa ett samband och förstå dynamiken i systemet och drivkrafterna, kommer författarna att kunna presentera den samlade kunskapen till intressenter för eventuella strategiska beslut.

Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering, 1981 / Bibliography: leaves 264-269. / by John Jay Shaw. / Ph. D. / Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil Engineering

Literature survey shows that with, a few exceptions, the consumer behaviour of domestic water consumers has not been a common area of research. This explains the scarcity of information in this specific field. This scarcity was noted in the region and very much so in the context of Mauritius. And yet, such information is very much relevant for the management of the water sector, for the improvement of the service, for policy makers, for personal and social development and for achieving consumer satisfaction. This research brings about information that would contribute in its own way to these areas. The object of this thesis is to study the consumer behaviour in respect of domestic water consumers in Mauritius, to develop new theories and to build a consumer behaviour model. The thesis, at its outset, gives the background of the research. It contains the description of the water supply situation in Mauritius, its production, its distribution and its management. The brief on the people of Mauritius helps to put in the right context the pluricultural nature of the Mauritian society which is important for the understanding of the consumer behaviour of Mauritians. The literature survey, inter-alia, gives the historical development of consumer behaviour, its relevance to marketing, and its study as a discipline in its own right. The very scarcity of theories and models of consumer behaviour of domestic water consumers cannot be overlooked. The literature survey, therefore, covers some of the theories and models specifically on commodities. These models along with the literature review serve as theoretical foundation for the present research The models of consumer behaviour which have been literature reviewed have further enabled to construct an integrated model of consumer behaviour which serves as a framework for the discussion and analysis of the new model which is developed during the course of this research. The research is one mainly of general interest and can be classified as an exploratory research with a substantial contribution of descriptive research. The research has necessitated the collection of primary data. For this purpose, the objective approach was adopted and a consumer survey was carried out with the use of a direct structured questionnaire. The survey has been supplemented by discussions of focus groups. The analysis of the consumer survey is followed by the testing of the hypotheses, the development of theories and discussions on results obtained. The building of a new model of consumer behaviour based on the findings of the research is then undertaken and discussed. The thesis covers a wide spectrum from the need of a domestic water connection, consumption of domestic water, post-consumption behaviour to the illegal use of water in Mauritius. The thesis winds up with conclusions and recommendations. The specific topic of this thesis is a rare one. This research is but a step in the furtherance of knowledge. It stands as an original regional contribution to the science of management and to its development. / Graduate School of Business Leadership / DBL

The bottled water industry in Mexico represents a new method of providing drinking water to a society without ties to a conventional central piped domestic water supply system. Mexico, the world's leader in bottled water per capita consumption, has struggled to provide reliable, safe drinking water for its citizens. This study examines the context in which the bottled water industry rose to become the primary source of drinking water for a majority of Mexicans. The study shows how the combination of factors allowed the industry's rapid rise from a niche market of elite and 'healing' waters to its present size. The cholera epidemic of the 1990s, the 1985 earthquake, and the financial crisis that left Mexico unable to invest in water infrastructure forced consumers to seek alternative water sources. Political factors and the liberalizing reforms of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s facilitated market solutions and private-public-partnerships to meet the needs of the Mexican citizens. The world's largest food and beverage distributors bought into the market and found that the public was willing to pay cash for water bottles where the public water sector had failed to deliver potable water. Despite the fact that bottled water is more expensive per unit of water than a centralized delivery system, consumers are willing to pay a high price for clean water. It is an open question whether consumers return to tap water even after improvements have been made, once the bottled water industry has been so established. / text

This thesis investigates the influence that cultural differences have in the designing of products and services that encourage sustainable lifestyles. This was researched through a case study of dishwashing practices in Mexico and the UK, and the development of a methodological framework for supporting designers working in cross-cultural contexts. Designers can shift user behaviour to be more responsible, and by doing this, reduce a product s impact on the use phase of its lifecycle. Nevertheless, designing products that successfully drive behaviour towards a more sustainable path can only be accomplished if they are conceived to fit the user and the specific context of interaction. In order to do so, designers must truly understand the users, and take into account the complex web of factors that lay behind individual behaviour. A comprehensive review of the literature established an understanding of human behaviour and the emergence and evolution of practices and routines. This brought to light the diverse behavioural patterns in different contexts; and was further investigated with a scoping study in two different locations (Mexico and the UK), exploring general water consuming practices in the home, specifically manual dishwashing practices. The preliminary findings shaped a study that aimed to deepen the understanding of these practices in the selected sites, involving the use of Cultural Probes and videoing people in their common kitchen environment. A robust and clear image of washing-up practices emerged with rich and detailed data presented in different media, ideal to be implemented in a design process. To this end, a series of multicultural Personas were created as the direct outcome of the Cultural Probes and the scoping study, giving way to the design studies phase of the project, carried out with industrial design students in Mexico and the UK. A design brief for sustainable washing up practices was delivered. Design experiments were used to provide interesting evidence of the influence in the design process of the designers understanding of the target user. The findings indicate that designers benefit from exploration and creativity tools tailored directly from the user-research findings in the early design process. This increases the level of empathy towards the user, particularly making it easier to design for users with different needs and contexts than the designers themselves. It also helps designers to better apply design for sustainable behaviour framework to their concept designs.