Flushing away excess water usage

A toilet retrofit case study

For a property owner, there is little more satisfying than seeing usage (and costs) plummet after a retrofit.
For a data geek, there is little more satisfying than a compelling graphic that resembles the underlying reality.

The top plot shows a typical water retrofit for a multifamily building in the WegoWise database. Low flow toilets were installed over a few months in mid-2009.

The bottom plot wraps time around in a circle by transforming the data to polar coordinates. In this unfamiliar yet informative view, the excess water usage appears to flush right down the drain after the upgrade!

More anecdotal and analytical information about water tracking can be found on our blog. Head there to learn about rising water prices, an overview of water tracking and benchmarking, and a similar water retrofit case study.

Drag the dot in the top plot to track the usage over time.