| Author: | Ip, Chun Hang |
| Title: | Detailed account of personal water consumption in Hong Kong |
| Degree: | M.Eng. |
| Year: | 2014 |
| Subject: | Water consumption -- China -- Hong Kong. Water conservation -- China -- Hong Kong. Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
| Department: | Department of Building Services Engineering |
| Pages: | x, 70, 6 leaves : illustrations ; 30 cm |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | While the extent of water scarcity may vary among cities at different geographical locations, the need to maintain water sustainability is vital for all. Though people generally support water conservation, the presence of Value-Action Gap for these people may largely attenuate the effectiveness of a water conservation policy (Chung and Leung, 2007). Thus, the research aims at developing a practical yet simple explanatory parameter for water conservation regarding end-user group behaviour. Using recall interview survey, respondents. socio-demographic features and water consumption habits were obtained. The information is essential for determining the corresponding Mosaic group of the respondents (Experian, 2007a), which the groups have distinct consumer behaviours. Also, the per capita fresh water consumption figures were derived based on the information about respondent's water consumption routines together with the average per capita fresh water flow from local appliance data from the study of Wong and Liu (2008). The average daily per capita water consumption values for 9 Mosaic groups, i.e. B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J were found to be 384.8 L hd⁻¹d⁻¹ (SD =215 L hd⁻¹d⁻¹), 393.8 Lhd⁻¹)d⁻¹ (SD =203 L hd⁻¹d⁻¹), 315.6 L hd⁻¹d⁻¹ (SD =172.3 L hd⁻¹d⁻¹), 397.9 L hd⁻¹d⁻¹ (SD = 318.2 L hd⁻¹d⁻¹), 316.8 L hd⁻¹d⁻¹ (SD =163.2 L hd⁻¹d⁻¹), 405.3 L hd⁻¹d⁻¹ (SD =231.5L hd⁻¹d⁻¹), 443.6 L hd⁻¹d⁻¹ (SD =436.6 L hd⁻¹d⁻¹), 413.6 L hd⁻¹d⁻¹ (SD =319 L hd⁻¹d⁻¹) and 225.3 L hd⁻¹d⁻¹ respectively. However, the majority of the obtained figures are significantly larger than that of the estimate (306 L hd-1d-1) provided by Water Services Department (WSD, 2013), for consideration has already been made on the places of water consumption in domestic premises, service trades and government establishments. Regarding the correlation between the users' water consumption and their Mosaic group, the regression result suggested a weak correlation, possibly due to the limitations of a small sample size in representing the behaviour of the respective Mosaic groups of people. However, a general trend of decreasing per capita water consumption figures with social status was observed across Mosaic groups B to F, which resonates with a similar study conducted in UK (Edwards and Martin, 1995). |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b27606119.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 1.6 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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