Changes in our water use and advances in plumbing technology mean that the standards used for plumbing systems are outdated, particularly for apartment buildings.
Consumption in Australia has dropped significantly since the Millennium Drought which saw the introduction of Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards.
Future plumbing design will need to examine a wide range of flow conditions based on the dynamics of flow, pressure, temperature and energy use. Once we are accurately able to model usage beyond peak demand and have applied this to Australian plumbing standards, we will be able to create more energy and cost efficient systems.
