Harvesting Rainwater, an Innovative Approach to Easing Urban Water- Energy Dilemma
نویسنده
چکیده
Trend of rapid urbanization has increased the number of hilly communities around many large cities and raise both water and energy consumption, as modern water supply systems heavily depend on energy supply. Locally available rainwater was examined in this study as a potential approach for urban water-energy conservation scheme. Using hilly communities of Taipei Metropolitan as a case study, this study proposed a GIS-based rainwater harvesting design system incorporating spatial technologies, hydraulic simulation and economic analysis to explore how rainwater harvesting systems (RWHSs) can be a cost-effectively tool in urban water-energy conservation planning. The results clearly indicate that the economic feasibility of RWHSs was significantly enhanced when water and energy savings are both considered. RWHSs can costeffectively contribute to a 21.6% savings in domestic water use and an annual energy savings of 138.6 (kWh) per family. Furthermore, the cost of unit energy saving of 85.5% of RWHSs is lower than that of solar PV systems. Hence, well-designed RWHSs can ease the water-energy dilemma caused by rapid urbanization.
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