Towards a sustainable use of water at home: understanding how much, where and why?

Abstract

This paper presents the findings which have arisen from a literature review carried out at the beginning of a three year CONACYT sponsored PhD project, investigating water-related activities in the home and the growing need to understand user behaviour when consuming water. It illustrates how habits and routines emerge and develop. It then considers how perceptions of consumption and hygiene influence domestic water use, reflecting on how social, psychological and technological aspects influence domestic water use. The paper concludes by identifying a number of research questions which will be investigated through the remainder of the project.