Digital meters Real-time information for real-time actionImagine this – you identify leaks and bursts before your customer even knows about it. That’s not science fiction; it’s real, and that technology is here today.

Digital meters or as we know them advanced sensors are your eyes and ears relaying near real-time data that help identify and fix leaks quickly, saving water as well as saving money for your customers. As a utility, you can rely on them to closely monitor your network and save your assets and infrastructure from major damage.

As the commercial arm of South East Water, an Australian water utility, we can offer you proven insights gained from South East Water’s experience in co-developing, testing and trialling meters, telco providers and communication protocols in their service area.

The problem to solveManaging water more sustainably is the need of the hour. With a growing population and increasingly drier climate, how do you improve your water network, operate more efficiently and secure your water future?

Unidentified leaks are no fun. They waste a large amount of water which translates to increased cost for your customers, and for you in terms of non-revenue water. So how can you locate leaks quickly and efficiently?

Currently, you probably read your customers’ water meters once every three months. How can you alert your customers about their consumption sooner so that they can make informed choices and avoid bill shock?

The answerDigital meters. Or in technical terms, fully integrated ultrasonic NB-IoT-enabled advanced sensors. These devices provide superior flow measurement to detect leaks in your customers’ properties. They can also measure other factors like temperature, pressure and vibration, converting your meters into a massive sensor network that gives you unparalleled insights into the health of your network.

Reduce water losses significantly

Equipped with the power of timely water use data, you can proactively identify leaks and bursts in your network and at your customers’ properties saving significant amounts of water.

Meter readings every day

No more manual reads; no more waiting for months for their bill. With timely data, your customers are aware of their water usage so they can make informed choices.

Locate leaks easily

The vibration sensor in the meter enables operations teams to locate leaks without needing the leak teams to undertake a total system approach.

Be sustainable and make improvements

Digital meters help you manage your water more sustainably and improve business processes across your organisation.

Visualising and analysing the dataDesigned by a water utility for water utilities – South East Water has developed a unique end-to-end IoT solution hosted as a cloud service, and managed by us for collecting, visualising and analysing information transmitted from the digital meters.

South East Water built this platform off Microsoft Azure. It’s telco-agnostic, device agnostic, and able to integrate through APIs to existing and future enterprise systems such as billing and asset management. It’ll include artificial intelligence and machine learning to enable you to harness insights from the data.

How do digital meters work?The digital meter works hard throughout the day measuring water flow and other metrics, such as pressure. Once every night, while your customers sleep, the digital meter sends a small data pack containing the day’s information via NBIoT communications to your IoT-enabled digital platform which captures, analyses and displays the information.

Reduce leaks on customer properties

Detect and fix leaks in the utility network, before

they become bursts

Improve your water network, operate more efficiently and secure your water future

Benefits for your customer, benefits for youWith near real-time information, digital meters keep your customers on top of their water consumption helping them to adjust usage and predict their bills.

With in-built leak alerts, digital meters detect leaks on your customers’ properties and in your water network saving massive amounts of water as well as money. At one South East Water customer’s home, one of our meters found a leak which increased from one to two litres per hour to 130 litres per hour over three weeks. With the leak fixed, South East Water saved up to 280,000 litres of water in one billing period and the customer saved up to $1,100 in that same billing period.

With digital meters, you gain deeper insights into your customers’ needs and usage patterns. Guided by that knowledge, you can then send them personalised information and tips. Improved customer service equals greater customer satisfaction.

The information from digital meters increases self-serve capability. Your customers can help themselves better since they have access to their usage data 24/7.

As a utility, digital meters can support you by connecting your network and assets better. With proactive identification of leaks, you can prevent the loss of revenue and non-revenue water and fix issues promptly.

No more manual reading of meters and long waiting periods for meter readings. Which means reduced operating costs and increased productivity.

A big step towards becoming a digital utilityDigital metering is a big step towards becoming a digital utility and a giant leap towards ensuring a smarter and more reliable future for water. It delivers significant financial savings for you and your customers and water savings for the environment, thanks to easy identification of leaks and better management of your water infrastructure.

Who are we?We’re owned by South East Water, a Victoria, Australia-based water utility. We develop and commercialise innovations proven within the South East Water network, so we can bring them to organisations like yours.

For more information, email us at info@iota.net.auor visit iota.net.au