LoRa-based IoT solution from Semtech ‘saves Costco 22% in water management’
Apana, a technology company focusing on smart water utility systems, has incorporated LoRa devices and wireless radio frequency technology (LoRa Technology) from Semtech Corporation, a supplier of analogue and mixed-signal semiconductors and algorithms, into its smart water sensors.
The implementation is said to be saving Costco Wholesale Corporation (Costco) millions in overhead operating costs.
“Before developing our smart water leakage detection solution, companies, like Costco, did not have any method to monitor their water usage in real-time or even know that they had a water usage issue. They would receive excessive water bills and would not know why or how to stop the high overhead costs,” said Matt Rose, co-founder and CEO of Apana.
“Using our Apana system, clients immediately begin receiving information about their water usage and can detect anomalies, like spills and leaks. Semtech’s LoRa Technology is easy to deploy. Any plumber can survey the environment and install LoRa-based Apana sensors for a fraction of the cost of previous wired solutions.”
Costco, one of Apana’s earliest adopters, reported a reduction of 20% in water waste and approximately 22% savings in water bills. The company was able to get a deeper, minute-by-minute look into how much water was being used in their buildings. The company has integrated the Apana Solution across its North American locations.
Apana’s innovative IoT solution has more than 800 installations worldwide and has saved over 500 million gallons of water to date. The company serves a wide range of water-intensive businesses including supermarkets, hotels, carwashes, food & beverage processors, and commercial buildings. Apana’s LoRa-based solution tracks the water usage data in real-time on a private network and provides alert notifications.
The alert notifies facility managers via text message on their mobile devices. Ongoing reporting enables companies to evaluate the data and determine trends to target conservation initiatives. This allows more efficient water use and as a result can save the customer millions of gallons of water.
“Apana provides companies a cost-effective and reliable solution for water management as well as the ability to save millions of dollars in overhead cost. As water becomes a scarce resource, cities and governments will begin implementing IoT solutions to create a smarter planet,” says Alistair Fulton, vice president of product management in Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group.
“Semtech’s LoRa Technology, a proven and flexible IoT solution, drives low risk and fast-to-market IoT solutions enabling customers to drastically save as they grow their business.”
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