Individual metering and debiting (IMD) in Sweden: A qualitative long-term follow-up study of householders' water-use routines

The EU Energy Efficiency Directive (2012/27/EU) emphasises individual metering and debiting (IMD) of energy and hot water to reduce households' usage. Householders respond in different ways to IMD. Studies on aggregated water demand before and after IMD show a range of results-from about 15% increased usage to 50% less. Little is known of the long-term durability of routine change. This article describes and qualitatively analyses the short- and long-term impacts of IMD on householders' water-use routines. A combination of time-diaries, interviews, metering data and simple observations was used for the study of seven households. The households were studied at the introduction of IMD and after 5-17 months of experience; five of these households also participated in a follow-up study a decade later. The study shows that routines changed early, when households were informed about the new option that IMD provided and when getting billed. The routines were kept over time. Later changes in water usage related to changes in household composition and everyday activities and were not attributable to IMD. Implementers of IMD are advised to be careful in the introduction phase, e.g. when constructing debiting norms, performing information activities, and giving other feedback to the households.