We have a huge issue in managing and protecting our valuable water resources as the world’s population continues to grow and our urban areas expand, with more facilities to accommodate the growth. This is becoming increasingly important as a result of the increasing challenges of global warming. Overall, efficient water management and conservation has become an essential practice all over the world. Technology has advanced significantly in recent years, giving ever better options for businesses to use water, from on-site conservation to smart systems optimizing water usage and detecting leaks.
Water is essential in each and every aspect of operations- from hospitality, retail, manufacturing and health care.
How has the water management process evolved in recent years?
Years ago, the average building had two methods for measuring water consumption: a meter and a monthly water bill. Those methods simply provided property managers with the amount of water used (and charged for) on an entire property over the course of a month. Fortunately, submetering has evolved in recent years, ultimately allowing commercial properties, retail, and office complexes to measure and charge the tenants for the water consumed. However, these are basically measuring instruments.
They don’t provide property managers and facility managers the tools needed to monitor and optimize water usage in real time, room by room, building by building, and property by property, using today’s analytics and software technologies.
How can businesses implement efficient water management?
No business wants to overpay for water. However, if those costs are not kept in check through appropriate procedures, the consequences might be far worse than a massive bill. Water footprint keeps increasing when the companies use too much water, failure to identify leaks and faulty appliances efficiently will result in an unexpected water bill.
Water conservation is now more essential than ever. This is certainly relevant in regions where there is frequent or long-term drought. Many property managers are facing water use regulations or rising costs for water usage. The good news is that there are numerous solutions to minimize water expenditures.
- Optimize water flow
One of the most significant invisible water wastes in a property happens as a result of aging, water- dependent equipment and pipelines. Identifying appliances which consume huge amounts of water and identifying appliance failures, it can result in significant long-term savings when considering water costs and enhanced value to your property.
- Engage and educate employees – Every employee has a responsibility to play in water usage. Make certain that they are educated and informed about water conservation. Enhancing employee engagement of your water management initiatives is a solid method to break undesirable behavior. Use signs or posters to encourage a water-saving mindset, and fact check upon usage trends on a regular basis throughout the organization. Implement a feedback process to motivate your employees to share their water-saving ideas with management.
- Early water issue detection– Early water issue detection will save you money on water bills and potentially avoid water damage inside your property. It is essential to protect your property from water damage, whether you are a household, a business owner, or someone who manages property portfolios. Leaking fittings and burst water pipes are two of the most typical causes of water damage. Unfortunately, pipe damage is often not visible until it is too late. Installing a water management system that detects a problem before disaster strikes is crucial to avoid substantial damage caused by faulty pipes. Even the smallest leaks will be detected by water detection devices, allowing you to rapidly resolve them. Even a faulty appliance such as an overflowing toilet can cost a business £5,000 per year if left unattended.
- Benchmarking sustainability goals– Frequent water monitoring will assist in determining where water is used in a facility and will enable benchmarking sustainability targets. For example, most companies have now set a target to become more water sustainable over the coming years.
- Implementing a smart water-management strategy- An effective water management strategy is needed for an organization to monitor and control the usage of water. It is a great practice to have a system where there is regular monitoring, real time data and analytics of total water usage in the premises. This allows the organization to budget and forecast the cost for water and energy consumption. An efficient water management strategy accounts for energy cost reductions because the water usage directly impacts energy consumption as most hospitality, retail businesses use hot water. Wasting hot water will significantly impact the energy bill. As the energy costs are rising, nobody wants to pay for the water that has been wasted.
For efficient water management, there are smart water technologies with features such as
- All water information is accessible in real time via App/ desktop
- Instant alerts when there is a leak,
- Ability to shut the water off remotely when an issue is detected.
- Sustainability- Energy reduction as typically 10% water saved is hot water.
Smart water management strategy
Most of the businesses which focus on water/energy costs reduction and sustainability are adopting smart water management strategies. The strategy includes implementing smart water meters on the premises, monitoring water usage and taking necessary steps to reduce water consumption. There are number of benefits associated with smart water management strategy which includes;
- Reduce water footprint
- Cost and time savings
- Property protection
- Drive sustainability goals
- Budgeting and forecasting of water/energy costs.
With all the above mentioned features, SMART FLOW is the only world’s leading smart water management company which incorporated Artificial intelligence in their smart water meter. SMART FLOW’s AI meter empowers clients with full visibility and control to easily reduce their water consumption. It provides actionable insights to reduce water by 30%. SMART FLOW has proven case studies of clients in hospitality, health care and retail industries where there is a minimum water cost reduction of 30% (Most of hospitality clients over achieved it up to 40-50%).
SMART FLOW’s monitoring agents with the assistance of AI software constantly monitors the flow of water within your buildings, and only alerts you to issues when needed, eliminating any false alarms. This provides you with 24/7 real time access to verified information for your portfolio’s water consumption. Investing a little amount of time in learning how smart water management strategy works, how SMART FLOW can help you in achieving the strategy and thereby reducing commercial water/energy costs, driving sustainable goals and property protection should be a great initiative for the business.
