Energy-water nexus planning recognizes that water systems use energy and energy systems use water. That connection creates opportunities for utilities to design programs that save both resources at once.
Water and Energy Savings Can Reinforce Each Other
In the pursuit of new and more significant energy efficiency savings, ACEEE has published several reports outlining some of the innovative ways utilities can help their customers reduce energy waste through program design and new technologies. We have also started looking at the relationship between energy consumption and other natural resources such as air pollution and water use.
Demonstrating that energy efficiency can help us achieve other objectives such as emission reductions and water conservation not only helps make the case for energy efficiency but it also allows us to partner with a greater breadth of organizations and companies. Both of these strategies are the focus of a new ACEEE report, Saving Water and Energy Together: Helping Utilities Build Better Programs. The report outlines areas where water utilities and energy utilities can design and administer programs together to achieve greater water and energy savings…
To continue reading the blog post visit: https://aceee.org/blog/2013/10/using-energy-water-nexus-build-better
To read the report visit: https://aceee.org/research-report/e13H.
About ACEEE: The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy acts as a catalyst to advance energy efficiency policies, programs, technologies, investments, and behaviors. For information about ACEEE and its programs, publications, and conferences, visit aceee.org.
Related: practical ways to reduce water waste at home.
Utilities Can Coordinate Instead of Working Separately
Water conservation can reduce pumping and treatment energy. Likewise, energy-efficiency programs can reduce water use in some appliances and industrial processes.
For practical household ideas, see our water-waste reduction guide.
Conclusion
The energy-water nexus is valuable because it reveals savings that single-resource programs can miss. Coordinated planning can reduce operating costs while improving resilience.
Source: ACEEE report and links preserved above.
