The Impact of Urban Water Use on Energy Consumption and Climate Change: A Case Study of Household Water Use in Beijing

Abstract

Water use and energy consumption are intrinsically linked. Understanding the energy consumption linkages in urban water end use is useful in the integrated management of water and energy, amplifying the potential for energy saving by water conservation and thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions of cities. This reduction in energy and emissions in combination with other efforts can contribute to mitigating climate change. This chapter studies the conditions of energy consumption in household water use in urban Beijing by combining two methods: energy use measurements and random sampling social behavior survey. This research analyzes the characteristics of household water end use and estimates the energy intensity of household water use in summer and winter in Beijing. The main conclusions of this study are as follows: about 70% of the energy consumed in household water use lies in bathing, and the energy use related to washing varies remarkably in summer and winter; on average, the energy intensity of household water use in Beijing is 5.94 kWh/m3 in summer and 9.78 kWh/m3 in winter; in 2010, the total amount of energy use of household water use in Beijing is about 4.88 × 109 kWh, which accounts for 0.9% of Beijing’s total energy consumption. The conclusions show a great potential for energy conservation in household water saving.