50L Home Coalition announces London pilot project

Water and energy efficiency pioneer, the 50L Home Coalition, is to undertake a pilot project in London to test the possibility of reinventing urban water use without compromising comfort and quality of life.

The 50L Home Coalition is a public-private partnership jointly coordinated by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the World Economic Forum. It seeks to make “50 litres per person per day feel like 500 litres” – to reduce water use, energy, carbon and costs.

The London pilot will build on the findings of an initial pilot in Los Angeles which was launched a year ago. This monitored daily water and hot water usage per person in a test group of houses retrofitted with efficient fixtures and appliances. A control group of houses did not receive any products, appliances or fixtures. Preliminary and partial results showed that after seven months, the test group reduced its total indoor water usage by 19% and its hot water usage by 11% compared to previous consumption, and each by 24% compared to the control group.

The pilots aim to gather both consumer insights and technical learnings, and identify and articulate incentives schemes that could support adoption at scale.

The coalition is recruiting UK-based partners and members to support the development of the pilot and further advance sustainability goals.

• Waterwise has announced it will host Water Night 2024 on 24 October. Participants will be encouraged to cease non-essential water use between 5pm and 10pm. The initiative was soft-launched last year, and Waterwise plans for it to be bigger and better this year. For details and sponsorship opportunities, visit  https://www.waterwise.org.uk/waternightuk/