Reclaimed water use and energy consumption: Case study in hotel industry, Beijing

Abstract

Analyzing the relationship between water balance and energy consumption for buildings’ reclaimed water systems is useful in sustainable management of urban water. This chapter discusses the water balance and energy consumption relationship for reclaimed water systems, constructing a safety index for the hotel industry in Beijing. This chapter also analyzes the energy consumption intensity, the corresponding quantitative relationship with water quantity and the major points of energy consumption, providing a reference model for research and analysis of the water balance energy consumption relationship for other reclaimed water systems. Based on our investigation: (1) The average energy consumption intensity of hotels’ reclaimed water systems is 1.02 kWh/m3, which is 2.5 times higher than urban wastewater treatment plant; (2) air blowers and recycle pumps are major energy consumers in hotel reclaimed water systems; (3) we introduce an energy consumption intensity power function for hotel reclaimed water system design; (4) we developed a safety coefficient β, which reflects the degree of safety, stability, and high efficiency of the system; and (5) we make recommendations for improving reclaimed water use system efficiencies.