Smart  metering,  water  pricing  and  social  media  to  stimulate  residential  water  efficiency:  opportunities  for  the  SmartH2O  project

J.J  Harou,  P.  Garrone,  A.E.  Rizzoli,  A.  Maziotis,  A.Castelletti,  P.  Fraternali,  J.  Novak,  R.  Wissmann-­‐Alves,  P.A.  Ceschi

WDSA  2014,  Bari,  Italy

The  project  concept

Understand  and  model  the  current  behaviour  of  water  consumers  Predict  how  the  consumer  behaviour  can  be  influenced  by  

social  awareness  campaigns    dynamic  water  prices  

Raise  the  awareness  of  the  consumers  on  their  current  habits  and  stimulate  them  to  reduce  water  use

An  overview

consumerbehaviour

changesabstract numeric

water consumption data

translate

impacts on individual consumer

impacts on othersand environment

SmartH20

visualize

consumption patterns,habits and preferences

interpret

individual awareness

collective awareness

social awareness

gains

smartmeter

trigger

monitor

react

provide

display

social network

water company

municipal supplier

Water  demand  management

Five  categories  reducing  consumption  by  technology  (e.g.  better  dishwashers)  water  pricing  water  restrictions  encouragement  education

The  role  of  smart  meters

Smart  meters  can  measure  the  impact  of  the  different  policies  Meter  reading  feedback  is  not  enough  (Degen  2013)  Feedback  must  be  accompanied  by  guidance  and  information

The    “social”  approach  of  SmartH2O

Conserving  water  by  raising  social  awareness    use  social  networks  to  provide  examples  of  virtuous  behaviour  stimulate  “social  competition”  

provide  timely  feedback  with  a  smart  app  (social  game  /  games  with  a  purpose)

Water  pricing  in  SmartH2O

User  behaviour  and  pricing  policies  Saving  water  by  dynamic  pricing  schemes  

pricing  is  not  privatizing  we  consider  real-­‐time  tariffs  and  social  pricing  real  time  data  from  smart  meters  can  be  used  to  modulate  prices  

Water  pricing  in  SmartH2O

Typical  urban  water  pricing  schemes  uniform  marginal  price  (UP)  increasing  block  prices  (IBP)  decreasing  block  prices  (DBP)  

All  of  above  plus  a  fixed  cost  for  water  service  Studies  show  how  IBP  can  provide  incentives  to  save  water  Residential  water  denied  is  inelastic,  but  not  perfectly

The  effectiveness  of  water  pricing

Problem:  lag  between  price  changes  and  consumer  response    The  customer  response  is  very  varied  Smart  meters  can  shorten  the  lag?  Timely  feedback  can  change  customer  response  to  price  variations?

The  SmartH2O  approach

Assess  traditional  water  pricing  models  Evaluate  new  models:    

critical  peak  pricing  differential  tariffs  based  on  use  time  varied  pricing  customised  pricing

Modelling  the  domestic  water  user

User/household  attributes  Age  

Income  level  

Education  level  

Household  composition  

Water  devices  efficiency  

Presence  of  garden/swimming  pool  

Environmental  committment

External  drivers  Climate  

Water  price  

Regulations  

Incentives  

The  process

DATA  GATHERINGUSER  PROFILES  MODELING

RESPONSE  TO  WDM  STRATEGIES

MULTI-­‐AGENT  MODELS

sH2O  Case  Studies

sH2O  CASE  STUDY_UK  

4000  meters  15  min  reading  interval  5  districts:  2  in  London,  1  in  Reading,  1  in  Swindon  

sH2O  CASE  STUDY_Swiss        

 400  meters  will  be  installed  during  the  first  year  of  sH2O  

We  are  not  alone!

The  ICT  for  Water  Management  Cluster:    a  group  of  projects  working  together  

a  set  of  EU  funded  projects  dealing  with  the  impact  of  information  and  communication  technologies  on  water  use  and  water  resources  management.    These  projects  work  independently,  but  they  regularly  meet  to  exchange  data,  experiences,  results.    International  Co-­‐operation  is  strongly  sought  after,  in  order  to  create  an  even  wider  cluster,  breaking  the  EU  borders