NEOBIOME

LIT_131: Retamal, Turner & White (2009) - Energy implications of household rainwater systems

Properties4
typesource
source_typeliterature
year2009
topicswater_supply_treatment

3 min read

LIT_131: Retamal, Turner & White (2009) - Energy implications of household rainwater systems

Source

https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/handle/10453/9188 — original source (opens in a new tab; the file is not redistributed)

Context: ni · Feeds D03 (household water-supply pumping energy; Water->Electricity nexus)

Summary

An ISF (UTS) + CSIRO monitoring study of household rainwater systems in Sydney and Newcastle, this refereed paper is the origin of the ~1.5 kWh/kL “typical” figure the Neobiome Intelligence engine charges for household rainwater pressure-pumping (tank to taps). It documents both the typical energy intensity and the wide spread driven by pump selection and re-pressurisation cycling.

Key claims

- claim: "The energy intensity of the household rainwater systems monitored (Sydney + Newcastle) varied between 0.9 and 4.9 kWh/kL; a 'typical' household rainwater system uses approximately 1.5 kWh to deliver each kilolitre. [verified verbatim against the retrieved full text; spacing normalised from the two-column PDF]"
  source_location: "Abstract + Results (ISF/CSIRO monitoring study)."
- claim: "For comparison, the study cites mains/centralised water supply energy intensity at roughly 0.1-0.85 kWh/kL and 1.0-1.8 kWh/kL (Kenway et al. 2008) - i.e. a household rainwater pump's ~1.5 kWh/kL is in the same order as, and can exceed, centralised supply. [verified verbatim against the retrieved full text]"
  source_location: "Introduction (context, citing Kenway et al. 2008)."

Model use

  • Resolves RT_410. Backs the live engine coefficient household_water_pump_kwh_m3 = 1.5 (kWh/kL) — the “~1.5 typical” here is the origin of that convention; the 0.9-4.9 kWh/kL range documents the spread (pump selection + on/off cycling and line re-pressurisation, which is why measured end-use intensity far exceeds the theoretical lift). The engine charges rain_used_m3 x 1.5 to Electricity (Water->Electricity nexus coupling) LIT_131.
  • Corroboration (cited, not held — paywalled, figures from published abstracts):
    • Umapathi, Chong & Sharma (2013), J. Cleaner Production 42:204-214, doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.11.006 — 12-month real-time monitoring of 20 plumbed-rainwater households in SE Queensland; reported specific energy for rainwater supply 1.52 kWh/kL (a direct measurement close to Retamal’s ~1.5 typical). Paywalled, with no open-access full text available.
    • Siddiqi & Fletcher (2015), Current Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports 2:25-31, doi:10.1007/s40518-014-0024-3 — review; residential rainwater harvesting 0.6-5.3 kWh/m3 (Australia), lowered to ~1.5 kWh/m3 with improved pump efficiency (abstract-level).
    • All three converge on ~1.5 kWh/kL, which is why the coefficient is defensible despite resting on a single held primary.
  • Caveat: all sources are Australian; no direct NZ measurement was found. The 1.5 coefficient is a transferable proxy and the NZ figure stays an open, low-priority declared limitation.

Research targets

No new RT opened (minimise-new-RTs). Resolves RT_410 (household rainwater-pump energy intensity provenance). Residual (no new RT): a direct NZ household water-pump energy-intensity measurement — none exists; kept as a low-priority declared limitation on this page, not a tracked target.

Connections

Links to

EDT domains (1): D03: Water, Waste & Circular Systems

Referenced by

Technologies (1): Rainwater Harvesting (Roof Collection & Dual R…

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