300,000 smart water meters will be installed in Singapore as early as next year, as part of the nation’s plans to digitise the water system. The meters will be installed by SP Services and are the first of its kind to be rolled out in Singapore.
The meters can monitor water usage and leaks, and will be deployed to homes, commercial and industrial buildings at seven locations: Tampines North, Tengah, Bukit Batok, Hougang, Jurong West, Tampines and Tuas.
National water agency PUB assured that consumers will not have to bear any costs for the meters.
The first phase of this smart water meter programme is set to be completed by 2023. Households and businesses will receive notification letters from PUB prior to installation.
Keep Tabs On Water Usage
“Our challenge in PUB is to give our customers the water equivalent of the speedometer and fuel gauge, and to empower them to become smarter users of water,” said PUB chief executive Ng Joo Hee.
The solution to this lies in the digital water meters.
“Enabled by information on tap, something previously unavailable to end-consumers, we are convinced that they will be able to meaningfully adjust behaviour and become more efficient consumers, saving water and money in the process,” he added.
With smart water meters, water consumption will be read automatically several times a day, and transmitted accurately and remotely back to PUB on a daily basis.
Customers will have ready access to their daily water usage data via a mobile app or an online portal. They will also receive notifications when water usage is detected to be high, or when there are leaks.
Pilot trials carried out in 800 households in Punggol and Yuhua in 2016 and 2018 respectively found that these households had savings of about five per cent due to early leak detection and the adoption of water-saving habits.
“Smart water meters that can provide near real-time water use information will help to change consumer behaviour, (and) can give a major push to our water conservation efforts,” said PUB director of water supply (network) Ridzuan Ismail.
Featured Image Credit: PUB
