The Internet of Things (IoT) technology has taken the world by storm in the last couple of years. The technology is literally everywhere. From smart home to blockchain, IoT finds its use in every aspect of the today’s fast-moving world of technology. And in the city of Bengaluru, the Silicon Valley of India, IoT is enabling residents to keep track of their water usage.
SmarterHomes, a startup by Bengaluru residents Kasturi Rangan and Vikek Shukla, have created a smart meter service called WaterOn. With WaterOn, residents can now keep a tab on their hourly usage and reduce water wastage. Furthermore, the system also helps them manage leaks remotely. One more benefit of the system is that it beats the standard practice of charging a fixed flat rate as a water bill, regardless of usage.
WaterOn uses IoT to communicate between various smart meters installed at each water inlets in every apartment. Connected and powered by special-purpose cables, WaterOn is capable of storing water consumption data of up to 45 days.
SmarterHomes currently offers two models of WaterOn: One with remote leak plugging capability and the other without. The first one also comes with the feature of completely shutting the water supply when no one’s at home. It is priced at Rs. 9,500 while the latter one has a price tag of Rs. 7,500. Both the models can alert of water consumption on an hourly basis and can also store water usage data. The device comes with an accompanying smartphone app to monitor the data.
Aeneesh Rose Apartments on Bannerghatta Road, Bengaluru, was the first complex to install WaterOn, back in 2016. As of now, more than 3500 individual apartment owners use WaterOn smart meters, the company claims.
In this growing world of technological minds, WaterOn is another example of a responsible innovation. A research by SmarterHomes found out that communities that have implemented individual metering have reduced their overall water consumption by 35%. Besides, they also save energy costs as lesser water than before is pumped to overhead distribution tanks. Less consumption also means less wastewater resulting in multi-pronged savings. Furthermore in cities like Bengaluru, looming under the threat of a water crisis, more and more peoples should turn on to this IoT gadget and lend a helping hand towards saving water.
Related News
