Residential Water Bill Reduction with Self-powered Diagnostics & Services
Summary
SCH Number
2022080540
Public Agency
California Energy Commission
Document Title
Residential Water Bill Reduction with Self-powered Diagnostics & Services
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
8/24/2022
Document Description
The purpose of this Agreement is to fund new water use and monitoring technology and demonstrate cost savings. The pilot study seeks to provide bill savings data to confirm an average payback on equipment of less than three years without grants or rebates (18-month payback without battery replacements). The development falls in line with green initiatives for U.S. cities. Los Angeles, for example, has goals to achieve meaningful broad-based water use reduction. The baseline is the current water usage per capita per day of 103 gallons/capita-day (GPCD): a 2020 averaged figure. The aggregate target is less than 100 GPCD. With 10-percent market penetration, in response, the proposed water-use reduction is 7.1 GPCD. A successful project will demonstrate the proposed water technology in multifamily housing within a disadvantaged community.
The benefits of the project, as related to the California Investor-Owned Utility (IOU) electricity ratepayers, are to lower costs and improve public health by enabling widescale water sub metering and quality monitoring. Targeted beneficiaries of the project are disadvantaged and low-income residents in multifamily units who often overpay due to inaccurate metering.
Contact Information
Name
Misa Werner
Agency Name
California Energy Commission
Job Title
ETSPS I
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Address
Phone
Location
Cities
Los Angeles
Counties
Los Angeles
Regions
Southern California
Cross Streets
2079 E 15th St. STE 127
Zip
90021
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, §§ 15301, 15306
Reasons for Exemption
This grant agreement will fund a project to test, manufacture, demonstrate, and deploy a novel technology, Auto-modulating Power Source (AMPS): a device that powers wireless data sensors by harnessing energy from water pressure, resulting in less wasted water and increased cost savings.
Authority cited: Sections 21083 and 21110, Public Resources Code. Reference: Sections 21108, 21152, and 21152.1, Public Resources Code.
Pyro-E, Inc. CEQA Notice of Exemption Page 2 of 2 EPC-21-040
Testing and evaluation of a prototype AMPS device will include simulations, data analysis, and market research; will be performed in an existing laboratory; and will not require modifications to the facility. The AMPS devices will be manufactured in an existing facility and will not require modifications to the facility. The devices will then be installed in approximately 150 units at a multi-family housing residence. The installation will be a non-intrusive screw-fitting type to the tap water line (supply side).
This agreement is therefore categorically exempt from environmental review pursuant to section 15301 of the CEQA Guidelines because it involves the operation or minor alteration of existing structures, facilities, or mechanical equipment involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use of the sites. The agreement is also categorically exempt pursuant to section 15306 of the CEQA Guidelines because it consists of basic data collection, research, and resource evaluation activities, which will not result in a major disturbance to an environmental resource. The project does not involve any unusual circumstances, will not result in damage to any scenic resources within a highway officially designated as a state scenic highway, the project site is not included on any list compiled pursuant to Government Code section 65962.5, and will not cause a substantial adverse change in the significance of a historical resource. The project, when considered as a whole, will not result in a cumulative impact that is significant on the environment. Therefore, none of the exceptions to exemptions listed in CEQA Guidelines section 15300.2 apply, and this agreement will not have a significant effect on the environment.
The activity is covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA.