{"id":14227,"date":"2016-11-01T10:12:13","date_gmt":"2016-11-01T15:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=14227"},"modified":"2018-04-13T11:56:15","modified_gmt":"2018-04-13T15:56:15","slug":"home-is-where-the-smart-is-first-of-its-kind-study-reveals-importance-of-smart-technology-and-low-water-clean-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2016\/11\/01\/home-is-where-the-smart-is-first-of-its-kind-study-reveals-importance-of-smart-technology-and-low-water-clean-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"Home is Where the Smart Is: First-of-its-Kind Study Reveals Importance of Smart Technology and Low-Water Clean Energy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dustin McCartney, senior data analyst at Pecan Street, co-authored this post.<\/em><\/p>\n

Have you ever thought about how much water your dryer needs to dry your clothes? (And no, I don\u2019t mean your washing machine.)<\/p>\n

Every appliance in your home has a water intensity, or the amount of water needed to make and send the electricity that powers it. On the flip side, all water \u2013 like in your faucet, toilet, and irrigation system \u2013 has an energy intensity, the amount of electricity needed to treat, distribute, or heat the water. Chances are, you probably haven\u2019t given much consideration to the water intensity of your home energy, or the energy intensity of your water. There hasn\u2019t been any data at the household level \u2013 until now.<\/p>\n

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) recently teamed up with Pecan Street, Inc.<\/a> to examine these combined metrics in a new study<\/a>. Pecan Street, a research group running the most extensive energy-tracking in U.S. history, analyzed the energy and water costs of a group of Austin homes and their appliances.<\/p>\n

By gathering granular data on how much energy and water households use, as well as their associated energy and water intensities, this study reinforces the need for smart technology to help us better understand and manage energy and water. Moreover, in order to safeguard water supplies, the analysis demonstrates the importance of powering our lives with low-water clean energy resources.<\/p>\n

How\u2019d they do it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pecan Street installed BluCubes<\/a> (gateways developed in the Pecan Street lab<\/a> to collect water-use data) in homes that already had the lab\u2019s high-resolution electricity measurement equipment installed. Using data from these two sources, Pecan Street identified large water users, such as air conditioning systems and electric vehicles.<\/p>\n

Many of the homes were in Pecan Street\u2019s Mueller neighborhood<\/a>, one of the world\u2019s largest \u201cliving laboratories\u201d for smart grid technology. These homes are more efficient than average and have virtually no lawns (meaning a non-Mueller home\u2019s energy and water use could be significantly higher than the study\u2019s findings).<\/p>\n

The average monthly water and energy intensities are shown in the figure below.<\/p>\n

\"energy-water-intensity-ps-study\"<\/p>\n

Smart tech for smart homes<\/strong><\/p>\n

The study\u2019s findings are remarkable and show that energy-water data is essential for empowering customers to make smart behavioral changes that improve multiple bottom lines:<\/p>\n