Micro-metering of every tap and water outlet in the home (undertaken as part of the Anglian Golden 100 Survey) produces data showing how water-consuming habits vary over the year and how – and to what extent – household routines differ. For example, Figure 1.1 represents the water used in a two-person household known as T10149. The lines on the graph show that members of T10149 have both baths and showers, they make much use of the kitchen sink and their outdoor water consumption peaks in August. We don’t know exactly what the outside tap is used for, how long these particular water-consuming practices take or why there is a sudden dip in July: did it rain, were the occupants on holiday? Whatever the explanation, time allocated to outside-tap-using-practices in the summer is spent doing something else in winter.
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Elizabeth Shove