Vandeffektivitet

Vandeffektivitet, or water efficiency, is the practice of meeting water needs with minimal waste and environmental impact. It combines technological, infrastructural, and behavioral measures to reduce the amount of water required for a given purpose and to minimize losses in the supply system.

Key metrics include water use efficiency (WUE), water use intensity (WUI), and non-revenue water (NRW). In households, indicators such as liters per person per day are used; in industry and agriculture, outputs per cubic meter or crop yield per unit water are common measures.

Approaches include low-flow fixtures, efficient irrigation, cooling-water recirculation, and water recycling and reuse. Strengthened metering, leak detection, pressure management, and smart-water data analytics also improve performance.

Policy tools such as building codes, appliance standards, water pricing, retrofit incentives, and labeling schemes help drive adoption of water-efficient practices.

Benefits include lower operating costs, greater drought resilience, and energy savings; challenges include upfront capital costs, ongoing maintenance, data quality needs, and rebound effects.