Blurock

The efficient management of water within Estates.

Background
Existing Estates typically have the site’s cold-water service provided by a municipal bulk supply. Individual dwellings are billed proportionately if no water meter is fitted or are individually metered through manual reading.
If proportional billing is used, the amount billed is either based on dwelling allotment size or as a straight average of the total usage. Manual meter readings are done infrequently.
What are the problems?
Some of the issues with the current status are:
1. Billing based on allotment;
• This is irrespective of actual water usage.
• Result is low usage tenants subsidising the heavy usage tenants.
• This does not engender a culture of water saving, water conservation is becoming an ever more pressing issue for all.

2. Manual meter readings;
• Readings are infrequent and can result in major customer dissatisfaction.
• Infrequent readings can result in financial stress due to unforeseen excessive water usage as a result of a leak or some other factor.
• Infrequent readings complicates statistical analysis due to unequal comparative periods.
• Manual readings are error prone, resulting in costly and time consuming additional administrative tasks being required.
• Billing errors create a sense of mistrust in the management of the Estate or Service provider, resulting in customer complaints and dissatisfaction.

What is the Solution?
The solution to the above problems can be found in the use of a Smart Metering solution such as the AUS-iot Monitor that integrates the estate’s utility management. This is a cost effective and relaible system with the features and benefits detailed below:
The components of a Smart Metering solution:

• A radio module connects to the meter to collect the usage information and transmits the information back to a Gateway.
• The Gateway collects the information transmitted by the radios that are within the site.
• The Gateway transfers the collected information back to a utility management software package, the communication is normally via GSM.
• The utility management software can either be hosted in the cloud or on dedicated computer servers and provides access to all the relevant information to the body corporates/property administrators and owners/tenants/residents
• The radio transmission is based in the LoRa international standard and technology that is deployed on more than 150 million devices connected to networks in more than 100 countries


What are the Benefits?
The benefits of a Smart Metering solution together with an Advanced Utility Management solution includes the following:
• Meters are read daily, therefor usage and outstanding amounts are always current.
• Risks associated with quarterly meter reading and estimated billing are avoided.
• The risk of bad debt to the body corporate or bill shocks to the customer are minimised through weekly or monthly billing.
• The solution guarantees fair and equitable billing based on actual usage rather than estimated or apportioned usage.
• The solution ensures fewer customer queries and greater customer satisfaction, through the easy access to utility usage information.
• Significantly reduced labour and administrative costs of utility management and billing.
• Weekly, biweekly, monthly or quarterly billing cycles.
• Billing periods can be customized to suite the needs of body corporates/property administrators and owners/tenants/residents.
• This type of Solution can report on leaks and bursts that occur, normally within 24 to 48 hours. This includes leaks within the dwellings.
• By linking the system to the incoming bulk supply, water balancing can be done to determine recoveries against supply. This enables the detection of leaks in the main supply.
• Leak and burst detection ensuring minimal financial loss to the customer, both due to the excessive water usage and the resultant water damage.
• If required, the solution can easily be integrated into existing accounting Estate management systems, or integrated with 3rd parties for revenue collection on behalf of the body corporate.
• The Solution can provide a fair and equitable means to revenue collection for system maintenance or replacement.
• If the solution is hosted in the cloud then the advantages is secure and easily accessible usage and data storage.

What are the features available?
The features of an Advanced Utility Management solution available to the body corporates and or property administrators would include the following:
• A secure login with 24/7/365 access from anywhere in the world.
• Secure data storage and data backup for an extended period of several years.
• Real-time and historic billing information for all units on demand, downloaded as a .CSV file.
• Real-time and historic usage information for entire Estate or site, including meter reading, usage summary tables, usage graphs, comparative graphs and profiles.
• Real-time and historic usage information for each unit, including meter reading, usage graphs and profiles.
• Tracking of unaccounted for water, water under/over recovery report for Estate/Building based on verification with incoming municipal meter reading.
• The provision for email based notifications.
• The tracking of exceptions, such as no, low or high usages.
• Monitors are available for Water, Electricity and as Gas meters.





Extended features
Additional Features that provide valuable information and a much more inclusive experience for the owners/tenants/residents, includes a secure login per owners/tenants/residents via the web to the utility management software, providing the owners/tenants/residents with the following services:
• The tenants current meter reading.
• The tenants current account details.
• The tenants current utility usage information and the cost thereof.
• The tenants historic billing information and meter readings.

Android mobile application
A further extention to the above is a secure login per owners/tenants/residents for direct access via Smart Mobile Phone application that provide:
• Notifications of potential leaks and or potential bursts.
• Notifications based on customer set usage limits.
• Access to provisional bill based on current up to date usage
• Graphical representations of current and historic usage.

Where can we get more information?
Contact Asante Maji (Pty) Ltd for further information or to meet with a representative in your area.
Cell 061 4700263
Email juan@asantemaji.co.za