Quantifying the influence of environmental and water conservation attitudes on household end use water consumption

Willis, Rachelle McDonald; Stewart, Rodney Anthony; Panuwatwanich, Kriengsak; Williams, Philip L.; Hollingsworth, Anna

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2011.03.023

Cited by 324 publications

(227 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

204

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Many studies have confirmed that water conservation attitudes and behavior are closely related [23,32]. Some studies have revealed that residents with positive attitudes may not always exhibit positive behavior [33].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Public Perception of Water Consumption and Its Effects on Water Conservation Behavior

Fan

Wang

Liu

et al. 2014

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:The usual perception of consumers regarding water consumption is that their bills do not match their actual water consumption. However, this mismatch has been insufficiently studied; particularly for cases related to specific water-use patterns, water conservation practices, and user socio-demographics. In this study, a total of 776 households in 16 villages situated in the rural Wei River Basin are investigated to address the gap in the literature. Questionnaires and 3-day water diaries are used for data collection and comparison. Results show that significant relations exist between perceived water consumption and actual water consumption. Participants have different perceptions of specific water-use patterns. Participants tend to underestimate their outdoor and kitchen water consumption and overestimate their indoor water consumption. Females and elder consumers accurately estimate their water consumption, whereas consumers with high education levels and incomes underestimate their actual water consumption. The groups who can accurately estimate water consumption have better water conservation consciousness and water conservation practices than those who underestimate their water consumption. The huge disparities highlighted by the results suggest that community policies and OPEN ACCESSWater 2014, 6 1772 programs to improve public water conservation consciousness or practices must be implemented to enhance consumer understanding of water consumption.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Public Perception of Water Consumption and Its Effects on Water Conservation Behavior

Fan

Wang

Liu

et al. 2014

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Usually technological improvements are long-term investments, whereas behavioral modification can occur in the short-run-as a reaction of a temporal price increase or supply rationing-but also can react to educational campaigns or increased environmental consciousness [Gilg and Barr, 2006;Willis et al, 2011] as either a short or long-term strategy…”

Section: Conservation Actionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimal residential water conservation strategies considering related energy in California

Escriva-Bou

Lund

Pulido-Velázquez

2015

Water Resources Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although most freshwater resources are used in agriculture, residential water use is a much more energy intensive user. Based on this, we analyze the increased willingness to adopt water conservation strategies if energy cost is included in the customers' utility function. Using a Water-Energy-CO 2 emissions model for household water end uses and probability distribution functions for parameters affecting water and water-related energy use in 10 different locations in California, this research introduces a probabilistic two-stage optimization model considering technical and behavioral decision variables to obtain the most economical strategies to minimize household water and water-related energy bills and costs given both water and energy price shocks. Results can provide an upper bound of household savings for customers with well-behaved preferences, and show greater adoption rates to reduce energy intensive appliances when energy is accounted, resulting in an overall 24% reduction in indoor water use that represents a 30% reduction in water-related energy use and a 53% reduction in household water-related CO 2 emissions. Previous use patterns and water and energy rate structures can affect greatly the potential benefits for customers and so their behavior. Given that water and energy are somewhat complementary goods for customers, we use results of the optimization to obtain own-price and cross-price elasticities of residential water use by simulating increases in water and energy prices. While the results are highly influenced by assumptions due to lack of empirical data, the method presented has no precedent in the literature and hopefully will stimulate the collection of additional relevant data.

show abstract

“…Environmental concerns, financial considerations, and household demographics are the main factors influencing consumers' adoption of water-efficient technologies [14,19,24,25,32,33]. Consumers who are more environmentally conscious are more likely to take actions to conserve water, including purchasing water-efficient products [19,25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relating Knowledge and Perceptions of Sustainable Water Management to Preferences for Smart Irrigation Technology

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:Water quantity and quality concerns in urban environments have prompted conservation groups, governmental agencies, and policy makers to develop and promote residential water conservation programs, including restrictions on residential landscape irrigation practices and incentives for the adoption of water-efficient appliances. Previous literature links household characteristics, financial incentives, and demographic characteristics to the adoption of water-efficient appliances and overall water use. However, relatively little attention has been given toward understanding how homeowners' perceptions and knowledge of smart irrigation technologies affect their preferences or stated purchase likelihood of such irrigation equipment. To address this gap in the literature, this paper identifies perception-and knowledge-related factors that are correlated with the purchase likelihood of smart irrigation controllers. The generalized logit regression model results suggest that knowledge about irrigation systems and residential landscaping are positively correlated with purchase likelihood. Similarly, homeowners' perceptions about conservation efforts, water restrictions, and their neighbors' irrigation habits all increase purchase likelihood. Combined with statistically-significant correlations of several socio-demographic variables and purchase likelihood, these results have theoretical and practical implications, which are summarized in this paper.

show abstract

Quantifying the influence of environmental and water conservation attitudes on household end use water consumption

Cited by 324 publications

References 27 publications

Public Perception of Water Consumption and Its Effects on Water Conservation Behavior

Public Perception of Water Consumption and Its Effects on Water Conservation Behavior

Optimal residential water conservation strategies considering related energy in California

Relating Knowledge and Perceptions of Sustainable Water Management to Preferences for Smart Irrigation Technology

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About