# Assessment of Water Consumption Behavior in Single Households Using Smart Water Meters
## 3 Results
### Categorization of Single Households by Smart Water Meter Data
These peaks could be attributed to activities such as breakfast preparation, and other personal tasks that typically occur before individuals head to work. As workdays progress  
Figure 6: Hourly water consumption among 227 single households on weekdays (6 th, 13 th, 20 th, and 27 th) in September 2022. Figure 7: Comparison of hourly water consumption among single-worker and -nonworker households on weekdays. in single-worker households, there is a significant decrease in water consumption, which decreases to the early afternoon at 13:00, with an average of 2 L/h. In contrast, a notable increase in water consumption occurs again during the evening and night hours. These peaks begin at 19:00 and continue until 23:00, which are the evening and nightly peaks in consumption, with an average consumption of 26 L/h. Notably, the peaks occur during the evening hours at 20:00-21:00, averaging 32 L/day, primarily due to the resumption of household activities after work. These activities may include evening showers, dinner preparation, dishwashing, and other personal activities and domestic tasks. However, the water consumption patterns of nonworker households exhibit a slightly delayed increase in consumption, beginning at 8:00 in the morning with a water consumption rate of 18 L/h, and a peak in the morning at 9:00 with 20 L/day. Throughout the morning and into the early afternoon, water consumption in nonworker households remains relatively consistent because the occupants are actively present at home during these hours, engaging in activities such as preparing lunch, using the toilet, and personal tasks. Nonworker households tend to spend more time at home during weekdays since they do not have professional commitments that require them to leave, contributing to increased water consumption during these daytime hours. The peak during the evening period is from 19:00 to 20:00 with an average rate of 19 L/h. Interestingly, water consumption decreases during the evening, from 21:00, with 13 L/h. Conversely, their earlier bedtime habits contribute to reduced water consumption during the late evening hours. A \(t\)-test was run during the weekdays of worker and nonworker households. The statistical test confirmed that the periods in the afternoon from 13:00 to 16:00 (t = 2.35, \(p\) = 0.002 \(<\) 0.01) and in the evening from 20:00 to 23:00 (t = 1.71, \(p\) = 0.012 \(<\) 0.05) were highly significant. The hourly water consumption patterns for single-worker households on weekends and weekdays are shown in Figure 8. On weekends, when residents dedicate more hours to being at home, water consumption increases by an average of 327 L/day. Conversely, worker households with working individuals experienced a decrease in daily water consumption during weekdays, with an average of 296 L/day. The factor behind this decline is the limited time spent outside of the home during working hours. The water consumption peak starts early at approximately 7:00, with a consumption of 13 L/h, and the peak occurs at approximately 8:00 on weekdays. In contrast, on weekends, this peak is postponed until 9:00, whereas consumption remains relatively low throughout the afternoon between 13:00 and 16:00 on both weekdays and weekends with averages of 2 L/day and 9 L/day, respectively. However, water consumption on weekends during the evening hours as opposed to the morning hours starts early, at approximately 18:00, with peaks at 19:00 and 28 L/h. On weekdays, peak consumption occurs at 20:00, averaging 33 L/h. These variations highlight the significant differences in water consumption between weekdays and weekends, mainly due to daily routines, with peaks occurring during the morning and evening. A \(t\)-test between worker households on weekdays and weekends confirmed that consumption differs between 13:00 and 16:00 h (t = 2.35, \(p\) = 0.00048 \(<\) 0.001). However, insignificant differences were observed during the 24 h period (t = 1.71, \(p\) = 0.35 \(>\) 0.05).