Joshua Yap Ze Neng (FASS), Michael Tan Pau Fatt (FoE), Xu Yiqing (SoC), Zhao Xin Chen, Jane (SDE)
Academic Advisor: Ms. Sadaf Ansari
Water shortage is a crucial issue that is slowly becoming a global crisis. While Singapore currently enjoys water security, as our demand for water grows in tandem with economic growth and population, we need to be able to secure a sufficient supply for future generations. Moreover, studies indicate that people Singapore residents typically do not feel a financial pinch when it comes to excessive use and wastage of water, especially during showers. This is primarily because users do not know the quantifiable amount of water they use per day. We hope to address this awareness issue with the use of an interactive device that prompts ‘Seeing is believing’ and prompts action. Visual display devices cataloguing and indicating use have been proven to be effective in reducing water and energy usage in Australia. TAP for Water is a project to reduce water waste by Ridge View Residential College (RVRC) residents by targeting shower times as it is one of the activities that causes the highest volume of waste water. In addition to the visual display to increase user awareness, our idea also incorporates a tariff system where RVRC residents need to tap their matric card/concession card (with ID registration) to activate water-flow for shower. Our aim is to target and modify daily habits involving water waste through awareness of consumption patterns, that could be potentially charged to the user. We will conduct 3 separate tests:(1) Pre-Project Survey, to estimate the average showering time for both genders, (2) Pilot-Test Stage 1, to test the hypothesis that students will reduce their shower times if the actual duration of the shower and quantity of water used is is made known to them, and (3) Pilot-Test Stage 2, to test the visual display & tariff device and troubleshoot any technical issues when using the device. Based on a successful pilot of all three stages, we will make our recommendations to the Office of Housing Services at RVRC for adoption.
Keywords: Water, Responsible consumption, Water wastage, Energy wastage, Visual cues, Nudge behaviour