Los Angeles Pilot

Through 50L Home, Electrolux Group, IKEA, Kohler Co., and Procter & Gamble are joining forces with the U.S. Green Building Council CA to implement a demonstration pilot in Los Angeles, California. This unique effort to integrate solutions from different market leaders will demonstrate how existing and new innovations can achieve substantial savings in domestic water and energy consumption. They will work directly to understand water and energy consumption in 30 homes in the greater Los Angeles region, engage tenants, and retrofit 15 of those homes with products and solutions to drive down water use holistically. Our partners supporting the project are Droople, and Flume. Rainbird is supporting with irrigation equipment outside the home.

U.S. Green Building Council CA (USGBC CA) is a 501(c)3 non-profit and member-based organization whose mission is to transform Southern California’s built environment into a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable region for all. USGBC CA is partnering with the 50 Liter Home Coalition to develop a whole-home approach to reducing water use in the greater LA region. USGBC CA’s role in the partnership includes project scoping, technology innovation, development, delivery of pilots, and case studies detailing key insights, actionable recommendations, and potential pathways for advancing the innovative solutions utilized during the project. (usgbc-ca.org)

A Whole Home Approach

Our overall intent is to develop and pilot in a holistic, integrated manner the innovations required to create a path towards scaled superior water and energy efficiency.

Specifically, we aim to:

Gather valuable consumer insights and technical learnings

Identify and articulate incentives schemes (i.e. rebates and policy) that could support the replication of pilots to scale fast adoption

Integrate solutions, products, and appliances from several companies, primarily 50L Home members and partners.

Program Objectives

To undertake a baseline assessment in selected homes considering the existing fixtures, faucets, and appliances available in all residences at the time of selection.

Outcome: A baseline assessment of water consumption, both hot and cold, at point of use and time of use for the homes

To retrofit 15 existing homes with current market high efficiency solutions, including education on proper use, to quantify the potential reduction of water use.

Outcome: Learning on water savings made possible by the simultaneous use of solutions that exist in the market, and consumer insights on their use.

To quantify the improvement in water efficiency by using and integrating experimental product innovation in the retrofit homes.

Outcome: Consumer insights on the integrated use of new solutions and the water savings they achieve.

Policies & Codes

This project is evaluating and considering a wide array of laws, city and state policies, zoning codes and regulations to understand the full scope of what exists today. From there, we will identify where changes can result in water savings and reduction in energy use associated with the delivery and heating of water and removal and treatment of wastewater. We will identify potential barriers to change, and enlist partners to help overcome them. These may include:

Greywater & Water Reuse

Demand Response - balancing the demand on power grids by encouraging customers to shift electricity demand to times when electricity is more plentiful or other demand is lower

Distributed Water – localized – as opposed to centralized – wastewater collection and treatment for reuse

Carbon Credits

Energy Efficiency Credits

Electrification as a means of reducing reliance on fossil fuels

Indoor & Outdoor Water Standards

Support for Consumers

As we analyze data from the retrofitted homes, we expect to recommend a number of incentives and suggestions for support to help consumers learn how to make the best conservation choices for their homes. Details about those recommendations will begin to emerge as more data is analyzed.