event
Friday 20 Sep 2013: Smart Water Metering and Residential End Use Analysis: Recent Findings from Australia
Dr Cara Beal - Smart Water Research Centre, Griffith University, Australia
tbc 14:00-15:00
Smart metering trials and water end use studies are becoming more commonplace internationally in the
quest to better understand urban water consumption generally and to ascertain the effectiveness of demand
management strategies. Smart metering technology is rapidly developing in both the water and energy sectors and is rapidly becoming cost effective for widespread application. Without knowing precisely when and where water is being
used in a home or business, how can you manage its demand and encourage relevant water conservation strategies?
The recent drought in Australia necessitated better management of water resources through evidence-based planning. The South-east Queensland Residential End Use Study (SEQREUS) has recently been finalised and provides a range of important findings relevant to researchers, practitioners and government officers in China and the Asian Pacific Region seeking better knowledge on residential water consumption determinants. Findings presented cover multiple residential end use summaries across a two year period, end use diurnal demand patterns, end use predictors of peak demand, energy related implications of water conservation, socio-demographic and stock efficiency
determinants of residential consumption, to name a few.
The Full Report is available from the Urban Water Research Security Research Alliance Web Site:
http://www.urbanwateralliance.org.au/publications/UWSRA-tr47.pdf
Dr Cara Beal is a Research Fellow based at the Smart Water Research Centre at Griffith University, Gold Coast City, Queensland Australia. She is a specialist in urban water resources
and environmental management research, particularly related to smart water metering, end use analysis and decentralised water and wastewater systems. She is currently leading or has completed water end use studies covering potable-only water supply schemes, dual supply schemes and
internally plumbed rain tank schemes. More recently, Dr Beal’s work is exploring the water-energy nexus in remote and regional contexts, as well as the development of a national shared repository for smart metering and intelligent water networks. Dr Beal is a recipient of several professional accolades including
the Young Water Scientist of the Year Award and the Post Graduate Award for Excellence in Soil Science for her PhD thesis. When she is not actively pursuing her career interests, Cara enjoys actively pursuing her two cheeky children and four pesky chickens around her backyard!
