2022
Author(s): Hariharan J, Moud HI, Sands K, Capano C, Stockinger K, Vowels J
As global warming impacts the climate, severe cases of droughts, abnormalities in precipitations, unusual patterns of hurricanes, and excessive heat are becoming more frequent. Excessive heat and droughts in US have made dehydration a problem on construction job sites. Despite the studies about the efficient use of water in buildings post occupancy, little has been explored about water consumption during the construction phase. Given this lack of focus, this study investigates drinking water consumption by construction personnel during construction of a new academic building located in Fort Myers, Florida. Daily potable water consumption data on a jobsite have been recorded during construction through daily interviews with site personnel. Regression analysis is used to examine the existence of correlations between daily humidity, temperature and precipitation data, and daily drinking water consumption by each construction worker. An artificial neural network model is also deployed to examine the existence of such a link.