Pilot investment for Pałecznica - Intelligent water metering (IWM)
Pilot investment for intelligent (automatic) water metering (IWM) at water intake was foreseen in Pałecznica Municipality. Place is already equipped in PV installation and the idea is to make it as much independent and automatic as possible. Thanks to on-line (at real time) metering, water consumption should decrease around 20%. This will result also with lowering the energy use for water pumps. Moreover the project gives the possibility for combining measures of PV production and real time water consumption. This will allow optimizing water pumps work and use of PV energy at time of the biggest demands.
Pilot investment requires adaptation (or replacement) of water meters for transmitting meters, GSM/UMTS/GPRS/LTE/other data transmitters and receivers (data transmission solution will be decided during the pre-investment phase), software for administration of the system and training of person(-s) which will take care of the system. In additional there is necessary to combine IWM with PV production results and energy use at the place, to gain the whole scope of energy and water demand. This will allow optimizing PV energy consumption, and increasing energy efficiency, which is a goal of RURES project.
Pilot investment will be the trigger to start and show that savings are possible, and it will be a part of intelligent water metering of the whole system in the future (municipality aims to make intelligent metering for all buildings). Maintenance of the investment will be hold by Pałecznica Municipality.
Intelligent water metering can be easily implemented in any region, especially if it owns the water system (in bigger cities those are usually companies owned by the city). It is highly expected that such kind of investment can be extend across municipalities/regions/countries, to reach every single building, meanwhile PV installations will be developed as well. Pilot investment will be the trigger to start and show that savings are possible. Pałecznica aims to have smart/intelligent water distribution system in the future. The pilot investment is a first step to achieve this goal.
Direct beneficent of the pilot investment is municipality - lowering water and energy consumption brings ecological and economical effects. Savings can be used for the future development of the municipality, which influence inhabitants (indirect beneficent).
As a local public authority Pałecznica Municipaity has institutional and financial capacities to ensure durability of the pilot investment after the project closure, as a part of municipal duties - pilot investment will be a part of public installation, and municipality is obliged to ensure effective work of such an installation.
