Smart Metering Trial Supports WA's Transition to a New Water Network
Category: In the News
28 May 2019
In an aim to support Western Australia's future plans for a new and improved water network, Curtin and Murdoch University are leading a smart water metering trial with a number of Fremantle residents, for the purpose of researching how communities can adapt to using alternative water sources, including rainwater, greywater and groundwater, and to new smart meter technology for water usage monitoring.
This trial is part of the RENeW Nexus project which is supported by City of Fremantle, Water Corporation, energyOS and the Australian Government through the Smart Cities and Suburbs Program.
At present, up to 40 households are taking part in the smart water metering trial, with up to 4 smart water meters installed in their homes to monitor mains water, rainwater, greywater and bore water usage.
The smart water meters have been supplied by Australia's largest corporate water savings company, WaterGroup. They are connected to Telstra's NB-IoT network and data viewing platform Cumulocity.
Residents participating in the trial, which will run until June 2019, have 24/7 access to view their own water usage data on a water dashboard integrated with the energy dashboard offered by energyOS. The participants can use the dashboard to track their water usage from all metered sources to better understand their usage patterns and make informed decisions on their future water consumption.
"Up until now, the residents have only had access to their water usage information when they get their water bill every 2nd month. In this trial, with the help of our NB-IoT enabled smart water meter aka the 'NUmeter' they have the opportunity to get up to 30 minute interval data on their water usage," said Guenter Hauber-Davidson, Managing Director of WaterGroup.
"This means residents can quickly identify abnormal water activity or possible leaks around their houses and get them fixed immediately, and best of all no bill shock," adds Guenter.
Researchers at Curtin and Murdoch University are also exploring the possibilities of how smart water metering could lead to new ways to incentivise and motivate residents to save and manage their water.
"If water utilities gave customers the opportunity to save money on a water bill by setting them a targeted water usage goal, for example, I'm sure a lot of residents would jump at the opportunity," says Guenter.
According to Curtin University, Fremantle residents have already started to provide feedback on their experience using the new smart water metering solution.
"With this feedback, we look forward to gaining a greater understanding of resident's needs and the actions necessary to achieve outcomes such as improved customer service, enhanced operational efficiency, a reduction in network losses, and to better balance supply and demand," said Karla Fox-Reynolds, Project Manager for Curtin University.
About NB-IoT
NarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT) is a Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) radio technology standard developed to enable a wide range of devices and serviced by existing cellular telecommunications infrastructure.
About WaterGroup
WaterGroup is one of the largest integrated corporate water savings companies in Australia, a widely-recognised leader in smart water metering, leak detection and water loss efficiency.
WaterGroup launched the first commercially available NB-IoT ready, fully integrated, ultrasonic smart water meter, aka the NUmeter in January 2018. It is affordable, easy to connect has long battery life, long range connectivity, is NMI Certified and meets all the relevant Australian standards.
By leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT), innovation and sustainable solutions, WaterGroup's services and products help water suppliers, their clients, municipalities, hospitals, universities, large corporates, shopping centres and other large water users save water and money.
During FY 2016/17 alone, WaterGroup has delivered measurable outcomes for its clients including water savings of almost 300 million litres (ML) with cost savings of over $1 million.
With a specialist pool of expertise, proven design models and innovative engineering solutions, WaterGroup saves water and money for its clients.
More information about WaterGroup can be found at www.watergroup.com.au/NUmeter.
WaterGroup Media Contact:
Aimim@watergroup.com.au
Phone: (02) 9499 8795
About ReNeW Nexus Project
Led by Curtin University, the RENeW Nexus project is supported by the Australian Government through the Smart Cities and Suburbs Program. The key objective of the project is to demonstrate the benefits of integrating various technology platforms to deliver energy and water efficiency outcomes and to enable an energy and water network transition to include distributed renewable energy and water systems infrastructure.
The RENeW Nexus project includes the following partners: Curtin University, Murdoch University, City of Fremantle, Landcorp, Synergy, Western Power, Water Corporation, Power Ledger, energyOS, CSIRO/Data 61 and CISCO.
