Quantifying End-Use Energy Intensity of the Urban Water Cycle
Publication: Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 19, Issue 4
Abstract
The water end-use segment (WES), consisting of activities that utilize water in homes and buildings, has been identified as a major component of energy use in the urban water supply system. In this paper, an analytical framework is presented which can be used at the planning stages of new urban developments to assess future building-level water demands and associated energy requirements. The framework is applied to Masdar City, a new urban area in the United Arab Emirates, which has been targeted in its design to be a future zero-carbon and zero-waste city. Results show that the energy intensity (in electric kWh) in WES for Masdar City may range from 2.6 to . The dominant use of energy in this segment is attributed to water heating requirements, and the total energy use for obtaining hot water is estimated to range from approximately 20 to 50 million kWh annually. It is found that the residential sector in the city can have the greatest impact in affecting energy requirements associated with water use. For every unit reduction (in ) of indoor residential water use, it is estimated that up to 225 MWh may be saved annually.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by a collaborative grant (project number 6918743) between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. The authors thank Dr. Davor Svetinovic and Dr. Anas Alfaris for their collaboration and support.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 19 • Issue 4 • December 2013
Pages: 474 - 485
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 29, 2011
Accepted: Feb 26, 2013
Published online: Feb 28, 2013
Discussion open until: Jul 28, 2013
Published in print: Dec 1, 2013
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