This report outlines the design and results of the HomeLabs research project on sustainable household water use. Part of the Irish, EPA-funded CONSENSUS research project (www.consensus.ie), HomeLabs used ethnographic methods to evaluate novel social and technical interventions for sustainable water use in the home. Working with commercial, NGO and public sector stakeholders, I managed our water research that focused on solutions for more sustainable personal washing practices. The study showed that integrated supports including tools to enhance real-time visibility of water consumption, methods to build understanding of water provision, and novel washing products could shift current washing behaviours to enable substantial water reduction. Policy, education and commercial recommendations are made as a result.

1. Preliminary Findings from the Washing HomeLabs
Dr. Ruth Doyle (rdoyle4@tcd.ie)
October 2014
www.consensus.ie

2. Background
• CONSENSUS is an Environmental Protection Agency funded project that aims to
support transformations towards sustainable household consumption in Ireland
(www.consensus.ie).
• Launched in 2009, CONSENSUS is examining the drivers of and solutions for
unsustainable household consumption relating to water, food, energy and transport.
HomeLabs: household water consumption research
• This document highlights key insights from the CONSENSUS HomeLabs study on
sustainable personal washing practices (showering, bathing & bathroom sink usage).
• HomeLabs builds on the outputs of Phase I of CONSENSUS research. Phase I involved a
collaborative visioning process to imagine social and technical innovations for more
sustainable washing futures and resulted in the creation of a long-term Transition
Framework outlining steps for their achievement
• HomeLabs is part of Phase II of CONSENSUS and focuses on implementing and
evaluating the most promising proposals for sustainable washing identified in Phase I.
CONSENSUS RESEARCH

3. • In Phase II, CONSENSUS worked with an array of actors from public, private and civil society
sectors to identify existing and prototype innovations for sustainable washing that reflected those
identified in our co-created future scenarios.
• Technological, regulatory and informational innovations were acquired, tested and evaluated
using ethnographic processes within five Irish households over an intense 5 week period
• This built understanding of the variety of washing practices carried out by individuals and the
kinds of strategies that can be deployed to encourage more sustainable solutions.
• Insights feed into recommended actions for stakeholders who collaboratively shape washing
practices including policy-makers, the education and NGO sectors, the personal care sector, and
ICT and showering technology industries.
FROM CO-CREATED VISIONS TO HOMELABS

4. Taking everyday practices as the starting point for behaviour change
• HomeLabs builds on the growing body of research on sustainable behaviour change that notes the
flaws of reductionist strategies where behaviour is considered the result of individual attitudes or
values, or something that can be influenced by one intervention alone (e.g. pricing strategies).
• Instead, a practice-oriented approach takes practices rather than individuals as a starting point
for behaviour change and considers the social, technical & governance forces shaping these.
• The practice of personal washing was selected as the focus for the HomeLabs study as these are
thought to account for the largest volume of water use in Irish households at c. 38%.
HOMELABS FOCUS ON WASHING PRACTICES

5. PROBLEM ORIENTATION
Key issues for sustainable water consumption
• Water stress is increasing
• Escalating levels of water use in personal washing
• Low levels of conservation behaviour
• Poor understanding of everyday water using practices
• Inadequate engagement of citizen-consumers in water demand management
• Disconnect between users and their water supply
• Technical lock-in: water using practices shaped by existing technology & products
Ecologically connected, adaptive & efficient washing practices
• In Phases I and II of our research, opportunities were identified to make personal washing
washing more sustainable by promoting practices that are
1. Ecologically connected: linked with fluctuations in water availability
2. Adaptive: in response to a) water availability and b) actual cleanliness needs
3. Efficient: in their water consumption
HomeLabs prototyped & evaluated washing practices with these qualities with users.

6. • Five households recruited representing a range of life-stages and occupant structures.
The total number of participants = 19
• Social & technical interventions were introduced to these households aimed at encouraging
more ecologically connected, efficient and adaptive washing practices. Interventions were
introduced on a step-wise basis over five weeks in August / September 2014.
• Ethnographic evaluation to capture their experiences – focus on qualitative feedback,
however quantitative data on water use in participants’ showers was also gathered
• Mixture of interventions applied in the HomeLabs included:
1. Online Water Portal: setting personal daily water targets and simulating different
system conditions in water availability (designed to encourage ‘ecologically
connected washing’). This also provided social & individual feedback on water
consumption.
2. Litre & time cues: a water meter installed in the shower to provide real-time
feedback, to enable participants to achieve their water consumption targets and to
enable participant’s to provide a litre recording from each shower.
3. Tools & products: a range of different hair care & body care products to consider
their impact on water use; aerated shower heads for power showers
HOMELABS DESIGN

7. HOMELAB DESIGN OVERVIEW

8. HOMELABS IMAGERY
HomeLabs interventions in-situ

9. HOMELABS DATA GATHERING
3 key sources:
1. House visits & interviews
1. Whatsapp interaction
1. Washing logs (recording
shower time, litre use,
motivations and product
assessments)

10. Integrated interventions relating to governance, tools and education yielded changes in
washing practice.
• The HomeLabs applied a complementary mix of interventions to encourage shifts in
participants’ personal washing practices.
• These interventions targeted education and knowledge (through a dedicated online Water
Portal, and researcher communications), simulated alternative rules of governance (through
the provision of litre targets for washing), and provided supportive tools (including a water
meter, shower timer and washing products).
• Participants often mentioned the linkages between these interventions, and highlighted their
role in providing the motivation, learning, ability and support required to adjust their
personal washing practices
Integrated approach – potential for immediate actions & future collaborations
• A variety of actions for public, private, and civil society are recommended in light of the
HomeLabs (for a Summary – see overview tables at end of this document)
• In many cases, separate yet complementary streams of action are required
• This produces room for strategic collaborations to champion and pilot some of the
innovations and actions suggested here including awareness campaigns, technology and
policy development.
INTEGRATED APPROACH

11. KEY FINDINGS

12. Average reduction of 47% in water use per person per day for personal washing during the
HomeLabs study
• Median water use in Baseline week was 34 litres per person in their daily showering activities.
This reduced to 18 litres in Week 4 with a slight rebound in the final week.
The ’15 litre limit’ – minimum quantity of water used for hair washing
• Median water use for hair wash (shampoo & conditioner) amongst female participants prior to
HomeLab interventions was c. 30 litres, 4 minutes.
• With the HomeLabs supports, 15 litres (2.5 minutes) was typically considered the minimum amount
required to maintain an acceptable hair wash for female participants (men = 10-15 litres) .
• Key strategies to achieve this included shower pausing and the use of combined products
(especially co-wash & leave-in conditioner).
REDUCTIONS IN WATER CONSUMPTION

13. WASHING PRACTICE TYPOLOGY
Heterogeneity in washing practices
• There is no one reason why people wash. HomeLabs
revealed a large variance in the motivations, needs
and expected results associated with different kinds of
washing.
6 key types of washing practice (right)
• The study proposes a typology of washing practices
according to participants’ stated key motivations for
washing.
People tended to practice 1 - 3 key forms of washing
• Each washing practice varies in frequency, time of
day, water requirements & washing activities
Opportunities exist to target change according to
different washing practice types
• HomeLabs identified opportunities to employ different
behavioural, technology and policy innovations to
target specific washing practice types. (See Summary
Table at end of document).

14. “It takes a lot of time to get ready, like
shaving my legs…yeah because I have a
daily clean, but it might take five times the
amount of time it would the day
before…because sometimes you’d just
have a quick clean and then sometimes
you cleaning your face or washing your
tan off, or exfoliating or something like
that”.
1. Halle, 16
2. Stephen, 42
“I’d say I have 10 showers a week
maybe. Every morning, and then
whatever maybe during the week if
I’m working in the garden or going
for a run - and I always use the power
shower. I wouldn’t stay long in it, I’d be
quick enough as long as it takes to
wash or shave myself. I wouldn’t be
standing there soaking myself”.
E.G. HOMELABS PARTICIPANT’S
WASHING PRACTICE PROFILES

15. WATER PORTAL
Connecting with nature’ logic of Water Portal an important motivator; should be accompanied
with salient information, pricing information & social feedback.
• Water Portal concept was considered broadly useful by participants and something that could be
up-scaled and applied by utility companies.
• Suggested that it serve as an online basecamp where educational information is provided along
with personalised consumption and billing feedback.
• Social comparisons in water consumption displayed on the portal proved motivational and aided
benchmarking.
• More direct citizen-consumer contact (e.g. via text / phone app alerts) could be employed when
system conditions change and some suggested that variable pricing could be applied linked with
peak demand and levels of water availability.
Water Portal screenshots

16. WATER USE TARGETS
Targets for water use motivated change; potential policy application
• Participants were unaware of the quantities of water used in their household activities including
showering. Application of variable water targets via the Water Portal encouraged progressive
reduction in water consumption and the shower meter allowed participants to act on this
knowledge.
• Role for policy in setting demand reduction targets; not only applied in building regulations for
water efficiency, but also including targets for reduction in consumption at a household level,
translating these into per person targets.
• Couched within a framework of long-term demand reduction targets, household targets should be
set balancing considerations including a) current national household / individual consumption
averages; b) what would be achievable with simple behaviour change and making use of available
technical supports, and c) the need to lower environmental impacts of water services
• Flexibility could be introduced through targets that fluctuate seasonally (linked with availability), at
times of crisis (e.g. freezing conditions in winter), or daily (in response to peak demand).
“We don’t really know how much [water]
we should really use so as we went along it
would definitely encourage you - for me
anyway - to go lower, and to keep it lower, and
to try and have a target…if you'd never given
us the fifteen [litre] one, I’m sure we’d have
stayed probably that bit higher, I can’t see why
we’d go down because we’d think we were
being good at twenty [litres]. If you said forty
was good, we’d be thinking oh great, well I’ll
use thirty-eight – because you’d have thought
that was what the average person used”.
Kerry, 49

17. The power of “just trying it” to disrupt practices and promote learning
• With guidance and technical supports, participants reported surprise that their washing practices
could be completed with less water.
• When they felt that they could go no further, they exhibited creative behavioural responses and
strategies to achieve progressive reductions.
• All participants reported high levels of learning and intentions to continue the behaviours,
skills and technologies promoted in HomeLabs after the experiment.
Planning washing activities is a key strategy to avoid over-usage of water
• Planning around exercise and scheduling showering was an effective strategy to avoid twice-daily
or sporadic washing.
• Participants sometimes did this for convenience reasons or due to requirements to share hot
water in the house and so it was not an entirely alien concept.
• Planning could be motivated through the application of water targets and feedback.
Pausing / reducing water flow is a successful strategy for lowering water consumption
• A simple behavioural strategy adopted by participants in the study was the use of shower pausing
or reducing the flow when lathering, rinsing or shaving.
• A limited number practiced this behaviour before and it was a key means for participants
(particularly those with power showers) to achieve reductions in consumption and hit their litre
targets.
• Based on this insight, the HomeLab study identified a range of shower design innovations to
improve the ease of flow adjustment going forward.
BEHAVIOURAL CONSIDERATIONS

18. TIME SPEND & WATER CONSUMPTION
Correlation between time spend and water consumption was inconsistent
• There was not always a direct correlation between time spend and water consumption in
showering activities
• This was the case even where participants used the same flow-rate in their shower due to
behavioural differences (e.g. pausing the flow while lathering) and also between households
where a five minute power shower could consume more than an 80 litre bath. This shows
that caution must be applied when using simple pleas for “taking a shower instead of a bath”
or a timed “five-minute shower”.
• If shower innovations integrate time cues, or egg-timers are distributed for existing
showers, they must be accompanied by measures to build understanding on litre
consumption (for example, by providing tools for people to diagnose their current shower
flow rates, and through mandatory appliance water efficiency labeling).

19. TECHNOLOGY INTERVENTIONS
Low understanding of litre consumption related to washing; opportunity to improve
knowledge & for new product innovation
• Participants drastically under-estimated water consumption in their showers and were often
shocked when water use was made visible by the shower water meter.
• Litre feedback proved a more potent a motivator and learning tool than the shower
timer in the HomeLabs.
• There is untapped opportunity for educational measures and technology development to raise
consciousness of litre consumption. This was seen as a necessary complement to water
charges to empower consumers to adjust their water use
“They should be putting litre use on everything
so that you understand. Like they can’t just
charge something at, at the end source and
not – you know it’s such a government way of
dealing with something but it’s really unfair on
consumers to charge and measure out there
and not measure in here, inside”.
Rosie, 33
“I knew I spent probably above the average
amount of time in the shower but I didn’t
realise how much water that actually is, you
would never think it would be that much, it’s
pretty cool that it [the shower meter] tells you”.
Ruan, 18

20. Effectiveness, convenience & efficiency are key levers to draw on when attempting to
intervene in washing practices
• Interventions that improve the efficiency and effectiveness of washing practices should
be emphasised as these are typically more important motivators than environmental
drivers.
• The results of washing practices (such as wakefulness, relaxation or cleanliness) can be
held constant but the study found that it is possible to find ways of achieving these
results that are more efficient in water use, along with being more convenient for users.
• Towards this goal, HomeLabs identified innovations in shower and product design and
recommends that societal influencers including hair-dressers, online stylist
bloggers and the hair and body care industry be included in any campaigns
designed to encourage shifts in washing practices.
CONVENIENCE & EFFICIENCY

21. Create shower settings oriented around user needs
• Create variable flow rates and aeration patterns that are linked with different functions. For
example: a) classic / soak (medium power); b) lather (pause); c) full rinse (high-power); d)
light rinse (low / eco-setting); e) therapeutic (aerated pattern / high power)
• Note: language of “eco” or “low flow” settings are not the primary labels due to their
connotations of poor quality, instead the settings are oriented around the function that the user
desires.
Create ‘shower cycles’
• User selects an automatic cycle based on the shower type they’re having. E.G. someone
could select a regular ‘Re-Fresh Shower’ which might start with a ‘classic’ litre flow, and
transition to ‘lather’ and ultimately ‘full rinse’ settings.
• Audible / timer cues could be used to assist users in measuring progression through the cycle
Architecture of shower space:
• Positioning of shower dials to assist in adjustment, and well-insulated spaces to retain warmth
if shower flow adjustment / water pausing strategies are promoted.
Real-time litre feedback on litre use (potentially using ambient lighting / sound cues)
• Integrated into future shower design – linked with litre guidelines provided from water utility
companies
SHOWER DESIGN PROPOSALS

22. Opportunities to reduce water use through innovation in hair and body care products
• Through trialing different forms of hair care and body care products, HomeLabs revealed
opportunities for innovations that reduce water use related to application, lathering and rinsing
requirements.
• A key strategy is to reduce the number of separate products and associated washing steps
taken inside the shower. This can be done through:
1. Combining steps (e.g. combined shampoo and conditioner products)
2. Displacing steps (e.g. moving washing steps outside the shower for example by using
leave-in conditioner)
3. Using dry / no water solutions (e.g. body gel cleaners, dry shampoo & dry shaving).
HAIR & BODY CARE PRODUCTS
A selection of HomeLabs
products in-situ in plain
containers without branding
identifiers in order to reduce
preconceptions and bias
related to well-known brands
“Definitely time-wise it is much quicker…We
both loved the leave-in conditioner and it’s a
really simple thing that you just don’t think
about ... that’s definitely something that’d
we’d switch to”, Liz, 40

23. THE ‘MEDIATING’ ROLE OF PRODUCTS
• HomeLabs confirmed that is not the
product alone that influences water
usage; rather it is how a product’s
properties and the needs of the
particular washing task influence
water flow and time requirements.
• Certain products were found to foster
and encourage particular behaviours by
users, like reducing the shower flow or
reducing their showering time.
• In this way, the product served as a
“mediator” for the relationship between
the user and their time and water
consumption in the shower.
• This highlights the importance of
considering product-time-water
interactions in future washing product
innovations.

24. SUMMARY TABLES
FUTURE ACTIONS & INTERVENTIONS

25. SUMMARY TABLE: KEY INSIGHTS & RECOMMENDED ACTIONS

28. STRATEGIES TO TARGET DIFFERENT WASHING PRACTICES

29. www.consensus.ie
For more information
Dr Ruth Doyle – rdoyle4@tcd.ie
Prof Anna Davies – daviesa@tcd.ie
A full project report will go up on our website shortly so keep in touch!