title: The efficiency of a drinking fountain.
abstract: In this experiment the efficiency of a water drinking fountain was studied. Efficiency was defined in terms of the percentage of water actually consumed in relation to the water that flows from the drinking fountain, the drinking time, the water consumed per user and the electricity required to cool the water. For this purpose four different spout diameters were used and the water pressure was regulated to give two different water trajectory heights for each spout diameter setting. This resulted in eight different flow rates. The results of the study indicated that the water fountain is a highly inefficient water transfer mechanism and that extreme flow rates worsened the efficiency of the system. The intermediate spout nozzle diameters proved to be superior with regard to all the efficiency statistics.
authors.affiliation: Lynnwood, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Coetzee
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bennett