Water audits in residential and public buildings: procedural guidelines and a systematic review of the scientific literature

Abstract

Modern approaches emphasize the significance of the interconnections between water and energy consumption when conducting energy audits. This came as the result of stricter energy policies, which made water audits more important than they were before. To investigate the findings on an increasingly important topic, this study conducts a thorough review and provides a general framework for performing water audits in residential and public buildings. The latter can be considered a particular contribution, as no standardized procedure applies to buildings. In addition to the benefits derived from a properly conducted water audit (33-60% of water savings, positive impact on resource scarcity, and climate change), the study sheds light on critical deficiencies present in the literature. The review revealed an increasing interest in the field as the annual frequency of publications has grown over time - particularly in the last 5 years when 56% of the reviewed literature got published.