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Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

A Laboratory Study into a Novel, Retrofittable Rainwater Harvesting System

Peter Melville-Shreeve, Chris Horstman, Sarah Ward, Fayyaz Ali Memon, David Butler

International Journal of Environment and Climate Change · pp. 128–137 · Published 13 Jul 2016

10.9734/BJECC/2016/23724

Abstract

Aims: To establish the system characteristics of a novel rainwater harvesting system. Study Design: A laboratory test rig was used to assess the selected technology. Place and Duration of Study: University of Exeter, Centre for Water Systems between June 2014 and May 2015. Methodology: Previous research has identified that systems should have: 1) reduced capital costs, 2) reduced operational costs and 3) increased ease of retrofitting. To investigate the system’s ability to address these requirements, two full-scale laboratory test rigs have been used to assess flow and power consumption characteristics under a range of installation scenarios. Results: The system was identified to have a mean power consumption of 0.12kWh/m3 during a one hour pump test. Electrical costs were found to increase when the power consumption of the 11W control board was taken into account. Conclusion: Subject to reduction of the standby power consumption of the controller, the novel RWH system assessed in this study has potential to provide non-potable water supplies to households in the UK at a lower power consumption rate than existing water supply systems identified in the literature.

Alternative water supply systems rainwater harvesting retrofit SuDS water demand management.

References (9)

  1. 1 UK Climate Projections Science Report: Climate Change projections
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Cited by 3

Stormwater Harvesting

K. Lewis, D. Warner, J. Tzilivakis · Applied Environmental Science and Engineering for a Sustainable Future · 2019

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