Smart Water Management: Saving Buildings, Saving Money & Saving the Planet

Tell us about Connected Sensors? What is your focus and vision? What are your products?

At Connected Sensors our mission is to accelerate the transition to sustainable buildings by delivering innovative technology solutions to all stakeholders of the built environment. Our first and primary objective is to disrupt and innovate the water management sector within the Commercial and Multi-Residential High-Rise markets. We do so by focusing on three pillars: Saving Buildings from costly floods and damages, Saving Money for landlords and condo boards by reducing water and insurance related expenses, and Saving the Planet by reducing our ecological footprint as it relates to our water consumption.

We do so by enabling a variety of IoT sensors along with some powerful software that we’ve built and designed for the sole focus of commercial and industrial applications. 

How does your technology advance on other water management systems?

We’ve identified early on that one of the most attractive elements of this emerging wireless IoT business segment is its ability to deploy hundreds if not thousands of sensors in a short period of time with limited infrastructure changes as we’ve seen in the past. That said, this doesn’t come without its challenges. Battery life span and energy consumption have been some of the common challenges. We are proud to share that we expect to achieve a 10 to 15 year battery life which to our knowledge has yet to be achieved in the PropTech market segment. Beyond the battery life, we feel very strongly that our modular product design and its robustness makes Connected Sensors a very attractive contender when compared to other solutions for the commercial market segment. The modularity of the product enables us to quickly deploy new solutions as we identify opportunities for disruption.

What are the key benefits for consumers and landlords of a water management solution?

If we’re looking at it strictly from a cost perspective, a water management solution has a high return on investment.

First off, you reduce the likelihood of a water loss insurance claim and the subsequent costly insurance deductible. In addition, our solutions can also help increase our clients' insurability, and can potentially help landlords lower their premiums.

Secondly, you reduce the loss impact from a flood, as well as the downtime to your common elements in the case of a flood.

Third, you improve the valuation of your building by reducing building degradation over time through monitoring and preventing floods.

Other benefits include: improvement of tenant satisfaction by reducing disruptive repairs and downtime, reduction of payroll expenses through monitoring systems, and reduction of operational costs by limiting contractor truck roll as well as improving your water bills through identification of leaks.

What role does water management play in sustainability?

Fresh water is a finite resource. My studies have shown that on average 85% of properties waste 35% of their water consumption by means of leaks. At Connected Sensors we seek to impact this statistic by providing water insight and reducing the quantity and volume of leaks. In addition, when factoring in the flood mitigation system it is worth mentioning that 1 to 2 tonnes of material waste per square meter is produced from demolition due to floods. By mitigating water risk we can in turn reduce the waste that goes into landfill as a result of floods. 

What are the key considerations for implementing a water management system?

The first question one must ask themselves is whether they are looking to reduce water risk and the likelihood of a flood or if they are more so interested in a complete water management system. The second question one must ask themselves is if this system is to be implemented in a retro-fitted property, a new build, or if this is specifically designed for the construction phase. Finally, the other important factor that must be considered is the budget that a company or individual is prepared to spend on such a solution. By answering these three questions we at Connected Sensors will be able to provide a carefully curated suite of options for our clients’ needs.

What are the wireless connectivity requirements for a successful water management solution deployment? Are there any other key network requirements?

When deploying a water management system we often find ourselves deploying hundreds of sensors at a time within a property. It was therefore imperative that we work on a secure LPWAN connection. It is for that reason that we partnered with BehrTech to embed their MYTHINGS wireless connectivity solution into our sensors.

What innovation and growth do you predict for water management in 2021 and beyond?

Smart Water Management is a young but quickly-growing market segment. According to Globe News Wire, the Smart Water Management market is predicted to have a compound annual growth rate of 12%, hitting $19 billion by 2025. We believe that the hard insurance market combined with the finite water resource will stimulate much needed disruption and innovation over the next few years which we are excited to partake in.