A laboratory study into a novel, retrofittable rainwater harvesting system

Abstract

To establish the system characteristics of a novel rainwater harvesting system. A laboratory test rig was used to assess the selected technology.Previous research has identified that systems should have: 1) reduced capital costs, 2) reduced operational costs and 3) increased ease of retrofitting. To investigate the system's ability to address these requirements, two full-scale laboratory test rigs have been used to assess flow and power consumption characteristics under a range of installation scenarios.The system was identified to have a mean power consumption of 0.12kWh/m3 during a one hour pump test. Electrical costs were found to increase when the power consumption of the 11W control board was taken into account. Subject to reduction of the standby power consumption of the controller, the novel RWH system assessed in this study has potential to provide non-potable water supplies to households in the UK at a lower power consumption rate than existing water supply systems identified in the literature.