WaterGroup has announced it has signed a five-year partnership with Thinxtra that will enable large water users to detect water leaks and thereby avoid wasting millions of litres of water while realising thousands of dollars in water savings each month.
This will be achieved by connecting WaterGroup’s IoT-based smart water meters with the Sigfox Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN). The Sigfox network will cover 95 per cent of the Australian population by the end of the year. The network currently covers 71 per cent.
“Large users of water will benefit greatly from this network coverage as it provides a platform for our smart meter systems. They deliver not only automated meter readings but also valuable additional information on water use that helps our clients save water and money. In particular, undetected leaks wasting millions of litres of water which cost thousands of dollars will become a thing of the past,” says Guenter Hauber-Davidson, Managing Director of WaterGroup
“Our smart water meter systems can detect leaks as soon as they occur at a hitherto unheard of price point. For example, one of our customers, Fairfield Council, is saving $4,500 a month as a result of early leak detection. Another customer, Australian National University (ANU), found over $300,000 worth of savings within six weeks of our smart meter system being installed.
“Our smart water meter systems and solutions eliminate bill shock, the nasty surprise help they get when they realise that their quarterly water bill has gone up enormously due to a costly leak or large unauthorised use,” he adds.
The announcement of the partnership comes after WaterGroup spent 24 months researching and developing multiple LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network) wireless technologies that will work best with smart water metering devices. Through LPWAN connectivity, devices and sensors such as smart water meters can reliably and securely transmit data over long distances, at previously unachievable, low cost points.
By joining forces with Thinxtra, WaterGroup’s best-of-breed smart metering systems and solutions will be able to capture and send data on water use via the Sigfox wireless network.
“Sigfox technology became an obvious choice for use as a part of our smart water metering solution,” says Guenter Hauber-Davidson.
“In the past, the cost of connectivity was a constraint. Now, with the simple-to-use, large-scale and low-cost Sigfox network, monitoring their water use – and identify leaks – as finally within reach for any school, age care centre, shop, restaurant, car wash, or factory.”