Smart metering is helping facility and property managers face the challenges of understanding water usage and reducing costs.
Latest WG Captis and W350.
If left unchecked, leaks and inefficient water use can result in poor ESG outcomes, high water bills, and building damage – it can also destroy a good NABERS Water rating.
Smart meters use a data display and analysis system like UtiliOS, which allows facility and property managers to identify abnormal usage when it occurs, manage it, reduce water usage, keep their NABERS Water ratings, reduce costs, and improve sustainability/ESG outcomes.
Smart water metering involves replacing an existing water meter with a fully integrated one or installing an IoT device directly to the current water meter. Both solutions allow the remote monitoring of water usage in near real-time. They can transmit the data to the cloud for storage and visualisation. Using advanced analytics, meaningful alarms are generated to help facility and property managers take corrective action.
Things smart water metering can help with:
- Maintain NABERS Water Rating: A few weeks of an unnoticed water leak can reduce a NABERS Water rating from a 4 or 5 Star to a 3 or 3.5. Knowing about excessive water use allows enough time to respond to issues and stop the potential unravelling of a lot of work and investments that have gone into obtaining a high NABERS rating
- Reduce water wastage and lower costs: Smart water metering identifies leaks, promotes water conservation, and optimises water usage. Detecting leaks and other anomalies reduces water bills and lessens overall consumption
- Early detection of problems: Smart water metering can help property managers proactively address the problem and reduce the risk of damage to infrastructure and buildings before they become significant problems
- Improved sustainability and ESG: Smart water metering improves operational sustainability by reducing water waste and enhancing efficiency. It provides data for analysing and predicting future water use and its impact. It enables managers to reduce consumption and environmental impact for a more sustainable future
- Social license and compliance with regulations: Companies are expected to use resources responsibly. This includes water. As we head into another dry spell, the Bureau of Meteorology now predicts a 70 per cent chance of an El Nino for the next summer. Facility and property managers need to place a renewed focus on responsible water usage and conservation. It also helps comply with relevant regulations by providing real-time data on water usage and identifying opportunities for improvement
Maximizing the benefits of a smart water metering system
It is crucial to have a dedicated individual or team responsible for overseeing and maintaining the smart water metering system. This ensures that any issues or malfunctions are promptly addressed, and the system operates optimally.
Proper setup, commissioning, documentation, and fine-tuning of the system are essential. By configuring appropriate alarms, the system can send timely notifications about abnormal water usage or potential leaks allowing managers to take swift action.
Driving action based on the data provided by the smart water metering system is necessary to achieve the desired outcomes. Employing a dedicated external resource, for example outsourcing to a service like WaterGroup’s AWARE program, can help interpret the data, identify areas for improvement, and implement effective strategies to optimise water usage and conservation.
Smart water metering is a valuable tool for facility and property managers to optimise water usage, reduce costs and improve sustainability. With the increasing pressure on water resources, smart water metering has become essential to manage and conserve water effectively. By providing real-time data on water usage, identifying waste areas, and optimising water usage, smart water metering can help achieve goals of reducing water consumption, lowering costs, improving sustainability, and complying with regulations.
This sponsored editorial is brought to you by Water Group. For more information, visit www.watergroup.com.au
