A Laboratory Study into a Novel, Retrofittable Rainwater Harvesting System

Aims: To establish the system characteristics of a novel rainwater harvesting system.

Study Design: A laboratory test rig was used to assess the selected technology.

Place and Duration of Study: University of Exeter, Centre for Water Systems between June 2014 and May 2015.

Methodology: 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.

Results: 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.

Conclusion: 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.