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The Advantages of IoT Hardware and Sensors in Smart Water Management
Water is a precious resource, and as the world’s population continues to grow, managing water resources effectively is becoming more critical than ever. Smart water management involves the use of technology to monitor and optimize water usage, and IoT hardware and sensors are playing an increasingly important role in this process.
One of the key advantages of IoT hardware and sensors is that they enable real-time monitoring of water usage. Traditional water management systems often rely on manual readings, which can be time-consuming and inaccurate. With IoT sensors, however, data can be collected automatically and transmitted in real-time, allowing water managers to respond quickly to changes in water usage and take appropriate action.
IoT sensors can be used to monitor a wide range of water-related variables, such as flow rate, pressure, temperature, and water quality. By collecting and analyzing data from these sensors, water managers can gain a better understanding of how water is being used and identify areas where efficiency can be improved.
For example, IoT sensors can be used to detect leaks in water pipes, which can waste significant amounts of water and drive up costs. By identifying leaks early, water managers can take corrective action and prevent further water loss.
Another advantage of IoT hardware and sensors is that they can be integrated with other technologies to create a comprehensive smart water management system. For example, data from IoT sensors can be combined with data from weather sensors, satellite imagery, and other sources to create a more accurate picture of water usage and availability.
Overall, IoT hardware and sensors are playing an increasingly important role in smart water management. By enabling real-time monitoring of water usage and providing valuable data on water-related variables, these technologies are helping water managers optimize water usage and reduce waste. As the world’s population continues to grow and water resources become increasingly scarce, smart water management will be essential to ensuring that everyone has access to this vital resource.
In conclusion, the advantages of IoT hardware and sensors for smart water management are clear, and the potential benefits are significant. As such, it is important for water utilities to partner with companies that offer comprehensive end-to-end IoT solutions, such as Float IoT. Float IoT’s hardware and software are specifically designed for water management applications, and its expertise in data analytics, machine learning, and AI enable utilities to gain valuable insights into their water systems. With Float IoT’s advanced IoT solutions, water utilities can optimize their water usage, reduce waste, and ensure the sustainable management of this precious resource for generations to come.
Wave, Float IoT’s in-house developed hardware
Wave, Float IoT’s in-house developed hardware, is used by water utilities around the world to read out their bulk meters. Often used for the A-class customers, the largest consumers of water. The data which is collected through our equipment is used primarily for billing purposes, meter monitoring and distribution network monitoring.
This year we expect to reach 9.000 Waves in the field.
The base for the Wave product is from close collaboration with our launching customer DEWA (Dubai Electricity and Water utility), done in 2019. However now, in 2022, we believe we’re finally at the point that we can name it best-of-class.
What makes it the best of class?
A battery powered gateway needs the following qualities to be named best-of-class:
- Ultra efficient power consumption to enable 10+ year battery life
- 100% bulletproof robustness even in most difficult ambient conditions (50+ degrees Celsius, 80-90% ambient humidity)
- Wide variety of supported I/O, giving it the required flexibility in today’s world with a big variety of standards
Through the experience in the field we have learnt a few (hard) lessons:
1.) Modern Internet of Things network gives a huge variance in power consumption between different locations.
2.) Protecting your equipment in extremely demanding conditions is quite a feat
3.) Monitoring and managing a big installed base of IoT devices is a challenge, amongst others because troubleshooting data is limited due to the limited battery & bandwidth available.
How come its best class?
The valuable lessons we’ve learnt having thousands of devices in the field have all been moulded into our latest version: V6. We dare to say that the V6 is so robust, so power efficient and has such strong power monitoring features that we dare to call it best-in-class:
- Features a low power current reading circuitry which enables us 95% accurate battery estimates. With NB-IoT power usage differ 10x between one location and the other and so this feature is a must-have to minimise maintenance costs.
- Since our products are selling mainly in the Middle East it has become very important to make sure we can cope with the challenging environment. Amongst others we’ve achieved this in the V6 by fully potting the electronics.
- With a huge variety of available I/O (MBus, WMbus, Modbus, pulse, TTL, one wire) the Wave device is more like a battery powered RTU than a basic IoT device.
Interesting for your water utility or customer?
If you feel our Wave hardware might be of interest to your organization, please feel free to reach out and set up an online introductory call.
Cuculus and Float announce official partnership. Two companies streamlining IoT functionalities in the water world
Cuculus & Float IoT partnership announcement
We proudly announce our partnership with Cuculus, who provides an IoT Platform for critical infrastructure. Our latest environmental and innovation goals set the way forward for how we are tackling water technology.
Collaboration is a critical feature of our value chain, from the public-private partnerships needed to address water security for our clients, to the collective action in the communities around our product manufacturing. We believe working and partnering with companies that offer the latest technological innovations in the sector can help advance such efforts. Cuculus is this partner.
By 2050 the global population is expected to reach 9.7 billion people. It has never been more important to reuse, resume, and recover water. Producing more with less is key, and technology has the power to transform how we consume water. Our ever-increasing population is stretching our ability to provide water for needs such as agriculture, domestic water consumption, and processing drinking water. Technology can play a crucial role in water efficiency, utility management, treatment, and monitoring.
Emerging technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and internet of things (IoT) devices, can be optimized to make managing water systems easier, more efficient, and more capable of making accurate predictions. Data brings understanding, and understanding brings better management of a system.
IoT enables smart irrigation, water quality control which, when coupled with new computing capacity, allows us to develop complex models for water management. Additionally, IoT in water management helps utilities reduce risks that may exist in sewer networks, water distribution networks, as well as both water and wastewater treatment plants. It provides the foundation of data-driven utility management that can also be applied to more effective asset management and operational efficiency.
The world is struggling to fulfill the objectives of the Paris agreement, and we will need to take bold steps to get back on track for a sustainable future. In this context, Cuculus is providing solutions for critical infrastructure that is enabling the industry to make better and more data-driven decisions. Cuculus’ ZONOS™ IoT Platform for critical infrastructure enables data-driven decisions for energy and water flows and enable efficiency, making the infrastructure capable of dealing with sustainable sources. This goes hand-in-hand with increasing demands on security, but also offers new benefits offered through more advanced devices and the latest communications technology.
Clients need solutions that are future-proof and can help them go through the transition. This means that they need flexibility from suppliers to avoid technology lock-in. Full control of the infrastructures is now possible without having to opt for proprietary solutions, but this requires the technology providers to work closely to achieve this.
Float IoT and Cuculus partnership is a prime example of how suppliers work together to fulfill these requirements and to enable the bold steps required through innovative and advanced technology.
Did you know Float IoT is rooted in the land of water technology?
Did you know Float IoT is rooted in the land of water technology?
There is one periodic essence that flows through the Netherland’s history: water. A fluctuating element that never moves in the same direction. An element potent enough to demolish entire landscapes, as well as a primordial need for our daily lives.
A fifth of the country’s total surface area consists of water, and nearly a third lies below sea level. The ocean crashes against the sea walls from the west, while rivers carry large quantities of water from the East. Half of the country would be menaced by water without the development of ditches, canals, windmills, dikes, and polders.
The Delta Works – a Meticulous Hydraulic Project
Delta of three European rivers, The Netherlands has a reputation for revolutionizing the water cycle. Dutch water authorities have spent years implementing creative methods to keep citizens safe and dry.
The Netherlands is best known for its engineering projects as a result of the 1953 North Sea Flood. The Delta works were developed shortly after the flood; large-scale storm barriers and dams were built to block estuary mouths and narrow the coastline.
The Maeslant storm surge barrier was the last construction of the Delta Works. The barrier’s structure is rather unique; a gate with two arms that rest on both sides of the Nieuwe Waterweg canal. The huge barrier doors are floating pontoons that can be filled with water. The additional weight makes them sink and turns them into a barrier. Everything is computer-controlled; a hydraulic engineering project that has allowed the Netherlands to coexist with water.
Today, this precise engineering system continues to protect the country, however, despite these advances environmental changes are a big threat. Water managers are undergoing challenges, including deteriorated infrastructures, increasing energy costs, and growing populations. Given these issues, exhaustive control of the consumption of this precious resource is essential. Water management runs in the blood of the Dutch. Keeping the country dry is a process the country started centuries ago and continues to this day. The question is, will this still be enough?
Why Should We Prioritize IoT in The Water Sector?
The Netherlands’ relationship with water keeps evolving, and there is a growing awareness that not just dikes and dams play a significant role in our safety. Climate change is also evident; ocean levels are rising, the land is diminishing, and rainfall is heavier, meaning more innovative solutions will be needed. We are facing a water crisis, however, this crisis is not about water scarcity; it is a crisis of managing water so erroneously that billions of individuals and the environment suffer badly.
IoT is an emerging technology that has allowed companies such as Float to find solutions to some of the water issues we are facing. Float IoT comprises defined characteristics such as automation, data information, communication data flows, and connectivity. The aim is to solve smart water challenges by combining hardware, software, and data analytics, to deliver end-to-end solutions, and to aid the reduction of Non-revenue Water (a significant issue for water utilities, occurring from leaking and broken pipes that tend to be caused by either outdated infrastructure or poor maintenance). Float’s solutions allow intelligent workability and functioning of the water industry; developments that are gradually allowing us to administer and understand how we consume water.
VIVAVIS & Float IoT Announce Official Partnership
We are absolutely thrilled to announce Float IoT’s official partnership with VIVAVIS AG.
After having the pleasure of collaborating together on multiple projects in previous years, it was evident that this partnership was set to gain further momentum in 2021.
VIVAVIS have a wealth of experience helping businesses with their digital transformation and delivering intelligent IoT solutions, especially within the water utilities space. Their newly formed IoT strategy aligns seamlessly with Float IoT’s strong hardware and software solution offering. The VIVAVIS group already services over 350 customers in the German water and wastewater segment, and combining their expertise in the market, with our innovative nature, is sure to result in a solid team, capable of delivering immense value to customers.
From a personal perspective, Float’s CEO Harjan Brand is especially delighted with this new partnership agreement:
“The base of our company was amongst others formed in Dubai where together with VIVAVIS GCC and DEWA, we matured our products and now have more than 3.500 Wave devices installed. From the first moment, I’ve felt a click with the VIVAVIS company, their highly capable team, and their vision. Now it’s time to build upon this and together create new opportunities through smart & hard work and a relentless focus on the end customer.”
VIVAVIS will now be an official distributor of Float’s solution offering in multiple new geographies, meaning Float is now active in over 15 countries.
We at Float would like to thank everyone involved for the hard work and collaboration that has gone into our existing projects and for making this partnership possible. We are extremely excited for the bright future we have ahead of us together.
