Sampled Appliances & Occupancy

The household size and the type of water using appliances varies from household to household. To

capture this spatial variability the household size and appliance type for each type of water use event

is randomly sampled for each household from a probability distribution based on the proportion of

household sizes/appliance types. An example of these probability distributions based on Roberts

[2005] is provided in Figure 4. This information can also be obtained from Australian Bureau of

Statistics (ABS) surveys.

This section describes how to configure the Water Use node for sampled appliances and occupancy.

1 Select Configure > Water Use > Sampled Appliances and Occupancy from the Urban Developer main menu. The Sampled Appliances and Occupancy window opens:

Set the probability distribution (percentage) of houses for each occupancy (1-7 people). In the example window, above, 11.3% of houses have one occupant, 22.7% of houses have two occupants, etc.

3 Set the probability distribution (percentage) for each type and efficiency of water use (ie shower, washing machine, etc). BESS randomly assigns the appliance type and occupancy to each house based on these percentages. In the example above, 35% of households have 0-Star showers, 45% have 1-Star showers, etc. As you enter the numbers, the graph also dynamically re-draws itself, showing you the relative probabilities.

Restrictions

None

Dependencies

The Sampled Appliances & Occupancy requires the Appliance Types to be configured.

Outputs

Sampled Appliances & Occupancy is an optional configuration for the Behavioural Water Use node.

Properties

Property	Description
Occupancy Probability	Set the probability distribution (percentage) of houses for each occupancy (0 to 6 people) as either a constant or a time varying distribution
End-use Probabilities	Set the probability distribution (percentage) for each appliance type in each end-use category (shower, dishwasher, hand tap, toilet, washing machine, pool) using either a constant or a time varying distribution.

Constraints

The probabilities in each occupancy and end-use section should sum to 1 and cannot sum to greater than 1. If the probabilities sum the less than 1, an error will be reported in the Log Reporter, but the model will still run. If the probabilities sum to greater than 1, an error will be reported, and the model will not run.

User Interface

Sampled Appliances and Occupancy is configured via the Urban Settings menu. By default, Sampled Appliances and Occupancy is disabled and it must be enabled before it can be edited.

The user interface is illustrated in Figure 1 and the options are described in Table 1.

Figure 1. Sampled Appliances and Occupancy menu.

Table 1. Sampled Appliances and Occupancy menu options.

Option	Description	Access
Enable/Disable Sampled Appliances & Occupancy	Enable or Disable the Sampled Appliances & Occupancy menu (disabled by default). Enabling Sampled Appliances & Occupancy will disable the Fixed Appliances & Occupancy model for all Behavioural Water Use nodes.	Right-click on the Sampled Appliances and Occupancy menu item to open the drop-down menu and select Enable or Disable
Fixed Probability Distribution	Set the probability distribution (percentage) for each appliance/occupancy type. As you enter the numbers, the graph will dynamically re-draw, showing you the relative probabilities.	Select the Occupancy or end-use category (Shower, Dishwasher, etc) menu item and enter the probabilities in the table.
Time Varying Probability Distribution	Set the (optional) time varying probability distribution (percentage) for each appliance/occupancy type. If a time-varying probability distribution is configured, it will override the fixed probability distribution. As you enter the numbers, the graph will dynamically re-draw, showing you the relative probabilities.	Select the Time Based Distribution sub-menu item for each Occupancy or end-use category (Shower, Dishwasher, etc) and enter the dates and probabilities in the table.
Export/Import Sampled Appliances & Occupancy	Import and export Sampled Appliances & Occupancy configurations using the JSON file format.	Right-click on the Sampled Appliances and Occupancy menu item to open the drop-down menu and select Export or Import
Export/Import Time Based Distribution	Import and export time-varying probability distributions for occupancy and end-uses using the CSV file format.	Right-click on the Time Based Distribution sub-menu item to open the drop-down menu and select Export or Import

Technical Details

The application of the Sampled Appliances & Occupancy model to simulate the spatial variability in water use events is described in the behavioural model.

Acknowledgements

This material has been adapted from:

eWater Cooperative Research Centre (2011) Urban Developer User Guide: Urban Developer v1.0.0, eWater Cooperative Research Centre, Canberra, 29 June 2011. ISBN 978-1-921543-40-1