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This document explains the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Buildings Program's efforts regarding the research, development, and deployment of solar water heating technology.

Conclusions of this presentation are: (1) energy and water are interconnected; (2) new energy sources will place increased demands on water supplies; (3) existing energy sources will be subjected to increasing restrictions on their water use; and (4) integrated decision support tools will need to be developed to help policy makers decide which policies and advanced technologies can address these issues.

As American drinking water agencies face higher production costs, demand, and energy prices, they seek opportunities to reduce costs without negatively affecting the quality of the water they deliver. This guide describes resources for cost-effectively improving the energy efficiency of U.S. public drinking water facilities. The guide (1) describes areas of opportunity for improving energy efficiency in drinking water facilities; (2) provides detailed descriptions of resources to consult for each area of opportunity; (3) offers supplementary suggestions and information for the area; and (4) presents illustrative case studies, including analysis of cost-effectiveness.

This report details the results of a research conducted in 1998 and 1999 and outlines a marketing deployment plan designed for businesses interested in marketing solar water heaters in the new home industry.

This guidebook will help readers understand where and how renewable energy technologies can be used for water and wastewater treatment applications. It is specifically designed for rural and small urban center water supply and wastewater treatment applications. This guidebook also provides basic information for selecting water resources and for various kinds of commercially available water supply and wastewater treatment technologies and power sources currently in the market.

This paper estimates the benefits and costs of six water reduction scenarios. Benefits and costs of showerhead scenarios are ranked in this paper by an estimated water reduction percentage. To prioritize potential water and energy saving scenarios regarding showerheads, six scenarios were analyzed for their potential water and energy savings and the associated dollar savings to the consumer.

This report details the results of a research conducted in 1998 and 1999 and outlines a marketing deployment plan designed for businesses interested in marketing solar water heaters in the new home industry.

The U.S. Department of Energy is pursuing an aggressive goal to cut the cost of solar water-heating systems in half. Replacing metal and glass components with less expensive plastic ones is a key strategy for that goal. This is a short (2-page) fact sheet about new technologies for solar water heaters.

Hot water use in households, for showers and baths as well as for washing clothes and dishes, is a major driver of household energy consumption. Other household uses of water (such as irrigating landscaping) require additional energy in other sectors to transport and treat the water before use, and to treat wastewater. In California, 19 percent of total electricity for all sectors combined and 32 percent of natural gas consumption is related to water. There is a critical interdependence between energy and water systems: thermal power plants require cooling water, and water pumping and treatment require energy. Energy efficiency can be increased by a number of means, including more-efficient appliances (e.g., clothes washers or dishwashers that use less total water and less heated water), water-conserving plumbing fixtures and fittings (e.g., showerheads, faucets, toilets) and changes in consumer behavior (e.g., lower temperature set points for storage water heaters, shorter showers). Water- and energy-conserving activities can help offset the stress imposed on limited water (and energy) supplies from increasing population in some areas, particularly in drought years, or increased consumption (e.g., some new shower systems) as a result of increased wealth. This paper explores the connections between household water use and energy, and suggests options for increased efficiencies in both individual technologies and systems. Studies indicate that urban water use can be reduced cost-effectively by up to 30 percent with commercially available products. The energy savings associated with water savings may represent a large additional and largely untapped cost-effective opportunity.

A partnership among the Federal government, a utility, and water efficient equipment manufacturers was developed in response to the Executive Order 12902, Energy and Efficiency in Federal Facilities, where water conservation is still a fairly undeveloped part of resource conservation in the Federal government. The Department of Energy`s Federal Energy Management Program (with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory) managed the project, bringing together the Environmental Protection Agency, General Services Administration and Bureau of Reclamation with Denver Water and four water use equipment manufacturers to install and test water-saving indoor and outdoor technologies at the Denver Federal Center. This paper will describe the process used to form this partnership and document the results and its potential impact.