Design Article
Smart meters tackle water conservation
Gert Skriver, Kamstrup
12/10/2012 5:31 PM EST
The world’s water resources are under stress and unequally available. Some regions suffer from drought, other regions from water pollution or worn out distribution networks. For a variety of reasons water stress is a wide spread problem which is only worsening as a growing world population demand their share of food, energy and welfare.
The IBM report, Fixing the Future, confirms the enormous dependency on water in the production of food, industrial goods and energy, and consequently the way out of poverty depends on the availability of necessary water resources. This is illustrated by the fact that it takes 15,000 liters of water to produce just one kg of beef.1
Higher living standards call for a savvier handling of water, including an increased political focus followed up by technological innovation in order to check water waste and strengthen consumer awareness.
Obligatory pricing of water is recognized as one of the efficient means of regulating consumer behavior2.
Information needed
One of the most pressing issues is the enforcement of a precise registering of water consumption as initiatives to conserve water must be based on qualified knowledge in order to be effective. Water saving activities run risk of being futile if the water is wasted elsewhere. In order to identify potential savings and avoid wasting good investment money we need to get a clear picture of consumption patterns.
There are basically two target areas for water saving initiatives: On consumer side clean drinking water is being over-consumed, because it is simply considered to be an unlimited resource, and on utility-side a surprisingly large amount of produced water is wasted in the distribution before it even reaches the consumer.
Next: Smart water metering
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JmmWill
12/11/2012 12:18 PM EST
I like the ultrasound basis. I am electrosensitive and would be tortured if the smart meter were using radio communications which penetrated to my living areas.
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R Sweeney
12/19/2012 4:45 PM EST
So I guess you live in an area without radio and TV service, right? And you don't use a computer which emits an incredible amount of RF noise.
Oh, wait.
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JmmWill
12/11/2012 12:22 PM EST
OOPS! "The MULTICAL 21 therefore uses a standardized wireless communication, Wireless M-Bus, which is interoperable with other household meters and can be integrated into mesh networks."
I guess if I were bothered by this wireless electromagnetic feature, I'd have to use a lawsuit to force a different communication principle.
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green_is_now
12/12/2012 7:54 PM EST
Tiny bubbles...
How do they effect the acuracy?
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GPBobby
12/13/2012 7:54 AM EST
This is an awful lot of hype over very little. Sure, it's a more accurate and possibly cost effective durable meter which can save reading costs, but water is not electricity. You have very few quick fixes to cut usage. A goldfish display on my wall telling me I just flushed my water saver toilet is a so-what. Data is only useful to the extent it can alter outcomes and you already know what you can do to conserve water - new toilets, timed sink faucets, the newest washing machine, and go back to using ice cube trays (which could result in increased electricity consumption).
Most inside water is used (wasted) simply as a vehicle to transport sewage. Let's put our engineering talent and emphasis towards the source of the problem, not on fancy ways to tell us what we already know.
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WKetel
12/13/2012 3:19 PM EST
GPBobby certainly has a very good grip! A whole lot of water is indeed just used to make the sewers flow. But that could also be done using quite dirty water. In this "Greater Detroit" area it is common for leaking water mains to account for over half of the water flow, so it would be quite worthwhile to correct that problem.
So how about, instead of just boosting the prices for all, if water rates are set to follow consumption, so that the larger users pay more for gallon than the smaller users. And then find some other means to make our drains flush correctly.
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WKetel
12/13/2012 3:20 PM EST
GPBobby certainly has a very good grip! A whole lot of water is indeed just used to make the sewers flow. But that could also be done using quite dirty water. In this "Greater Detroit" area it is common for leaking water mains to account for over half of the water flow, so it would be quite worthwhile to correct that problem.
So how about, instead of just boosting the prices for all, if water rates are set to follow consumption, so that the larger users pay more for gallon than the smaller users. And then find some other means to make our drains flush correctly.
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docdivakar
1/1/2013 4:23 PM EST
A quick scan of the article leads me to this conclusion: the author makes a point about the seriousness of world's current water resources status and then starts with a case for accurate metering of water (where such metering infrastructure exists!)... and then morphs into an infomercial about Kamstrup's product and the case for ultrasonic water meters. Some astute readers above (@GPBobby included) made really sensible comments... indeed some countries already use (as well as some hotels in USA) recycled water for toilets.
In much of the developing world where running water is still a luxury to many households, the payback from conservation using hitech meters at customer premises is a less attractive proposition. Bigger pay back comes from good management of existing water resources. This is certainly not to say consumer behaviour and payback is any less important but is a nonstarter for a discussion on smart water meters.
MP Divakar
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