Beyond frequency: Exploring the consistency of showering behaviour

<p>Showering is a high-priority target for household water efficiency. Designing effective interventions requires understanding showering. Previous research has focused on showering frequency and total duration, but not addressed consistency, which can reveal the habitual nature of showering. If people shower at consistent times, this suggests that showering events are habitually initiated, and consistent durations suggest that showering is habitually performed, and different behaviour change techniques are needed to disrupt habits than to change deliberated actions. This study analysed 15,728 shower events, recorded on 110 shower smart-sensor devices over 9 months in two student accommodation sites with en-suite bathrooms, with each device assumed to capture one individual. Most participants (67%) had two or more recurring shower onset time patterns, indicating that, while participants did not consistently shower for the same number of times each day, when they did shower, onset time was organized around distinct, idiosyncratic stable routines rather than one set time. Water use duration (mean 525sec) showed moderate within-person correlation, suggesting participants were generally consistent in how long they spent showering. While some flexibility was observed around how often people showered, our findings are the first to indicate that both the initiation and execution of showering are driven by habit, clustering around one or more individual daily routines. Interventions that deliver in-the-moment support aligned with recurring routines may be most effective for promoting water-efficient showering.</p>