Mall Uses Internet of Things Technology to Monitor Water Usage

Thanks to rising mercury levels, water management and sustainability issues are also on the rise. Commercial buildings like malls face large fluctuations in influent water quality and require prompt corrective action for efficient operation of the water treatment plant. Orion Mall’s management is now using an Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled water and wastemanagement solution offered by Green Environment India, a startup by the IIT Madras incubation ecosystem. Since January 2019, the mall has managed to save 3 crore 42 lakh litres ofwater.

The focus of this solution is to provide real-time monitoring support, predict faults from and provide troubleshooting insights to achieve assured return on investment on water utilities within the building. It took three months to install the project - which began in 2017 - and the accuracy of the water was checked at a laboratory. The final operation began in March 2018. Daily, 3.8 lakh litres of treated water is reused from the sewage treatment plant for non-potable purposes. The project helped with 25 per cent savings on water footprint and 30 per cent savings on water used.

At the mall, smart technologies are used to monitor real-time fresh and recycled water treatment utilities. The IoT solution has been implemented in tanker water unloading systems, waterand sewage treatment plants and cooling towers. “This process enhances performance of plants. Also, we have developed an application called Greenvironment to monitor the system,” said Manu Nair, General Manager, Facility, Brigade Group.

Most of the waste water is potentially reused using the smart technology developed by Greenvironment Innovation & Marketing India Pvt Ltd, a startup founded by alumni of IIT Madras. Real-time monitoring of waste water plant and troubleshooting support through innovative smart water management — IoT-based technologies are the cornestones of the tech support provided to the mall by the startup.

Real-time data is essential for smooth running of a water treatment plant. But, at present, operational decision-making at most plants remains largely reliant on after-the-fact information. Real-time monitoring system comprises real-time data collection, analysis and control tools. Using internet-based technologies, we collect data pertaining to quality, flow, energy and other environmental indicators from the water treatment plants of our customers. The system also facilitates transfer of knowledge from experts at a remote-control centre to local operators real-time,” said Varun, CEO, Greenvironment India.