Innovation

In today's society more and more people are aware of the problem of our environment's climate change. We would even venture to say that few people deliberately and premeditatedly harm the planet. However, despite this, many people do it unconsciously - simply without realizing it. This is where Arson Data Metering comes to the rescue. By means of their action, they can not only obtain a lot of useful information, but they can also establish personal contact with the customer, which is an excellent way not only to prevent possible expenses but also to inspire individuals to control their consumption levels more carefully.

Arson Data Metering, through innovation, helps advance the following three SDGs.

Firstly, the company helps with SDG 6, which aims to ensure the sustainability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. The way the company does this is mainly through the prevention of unnecessary water consumption, so that more water is available for other necessary uses. When the remote reading of water meters indicates that a leak is occurring, the water supply is shut off.

Arson Data Metering also contributes to the SDG 3 through its innovation. With all the data the company collects, they can find out whether there is a leak, if the house is empty or if water is really being used.

On the other hand, this company not only focuses on optimizing water consumption, but also has other important factors in mind, such as the carbon footprint generated by its activity. Therefore, taking into account SDG 13, Arson Data Metering has implemented measures in all its departments to reduce pollution.

Inspiration

Arson Metering's remote reading systems are the result of its R&D&I activity and are manufactured in-house. The company was founded in 2009 but has more than 25 years of technological experience in the electronics and telecommunications sector, and its technological specialisation in the world of water dates back to 2003. In these 11 years, they have developed various remote meter reading systems, based on a device created and developed in-house.

The motivation for the company to enter this sector was to be able to reduce water waste in cities. "Nowadays water is scarce and we realized that it was not being managed correctly; approximately 40% of water was wasted through leakage or fraud"

"Our goal was to make a system that was able to detect these anomalies so that we could prevent wastage." said the CEO.

The product they have now is the result of many years of development and research. This system offers greater reliability in customer billing and prevents theft from water managers.

Overall impact

Arson Metering's main activity is based in Spain. However, Arson Metering currently has ongoing operations in Europe and Latin America in countries such as Andorra, Greece, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Croatia. Moreover, it is currently in negotiations in Jordan, Cyprus and several Latin American countries.

LoRaWan is a smart meter based Telereading system that allows combining different communication media and implementing all standardized water meter communication protocols. It can read all meters regardless of manufacturer and/or gauge and location, using equipment that allows to send data in a reliable and robust way from the meter to the Data Control Centre. So far this system has detected more than 8,050 anomalies and has managed to save 120,000 m3 of water.

Arson Metering directly impacts 3 SDGs: the first one is Health and Wellbeing; where, thanks to the information on water usage, Data Anderson Metering can realize if a person has not used water in a given time. This information is then sent to social services to check that the person is well.

The second goal that we consider impacts the SDGs is Clean Water and Sanitation; understanding that water needs to be managed. Therefore, thanks to this technology, fraud called network intoxication, in which a person uses more water than they pay for, is detected. In addition, this company detects water leaks, which reduces water consumption.

Finally, the third objective is Climate Action. All of the company's products are made from recyclable components. Moreover, when their products reach the end of their useful life, they recycle them to make more products. Furthermore, at Arson Metering's facilities, all lights used are LED lights. This translates into economic and energy savings.

Business benefit

Arson Metering is the brand name of IoT Water Analytics, a company that is specialized in the remote reading of water and gas meters. From its offices in Leioa (Basque Country), it offers services to more than 100 municipalities that require reliable and secure remote meter reading solutions.

The remote reading of water meters is done through equipment, called concentrators or gateways, which are connected to the meters by radio reading to retrieve and transmit the data. The gateways are placed in locations such as lampposts or facades in order to receive the radio signal correctly.

In the past, the company worked with conventional cellular operators and there were problems on two fronts: consumption and security. On the consumption side, it should be noted that these old operators had a higher consumption of the concentrators and the battery was used up more quickly. On the security side, when data transited over the Internet with the old operators, there were numerous hacks. Given that the company handles very sensitive data, such as whether the house is empty, as the water meters make it possible to find out, it is essential to protect this data.

Now with LoRaWAN, the consumption is reduced by a huge amount and all the equipment communications pass through the VPN, which rejects unauthorized access to the equipment.

The positive impact this company's products has on consumers, allows it to grow popularity and have more resources to keep innovating on new solutions for their own goals.

Social and environmental benefit

Last but not least, it is essential to highlight both the social and environmental benefits that this company provides to society.

Firstly, Arson Metering's activity is focused on SDG 6. As explained above this company is dedicated to identifying water leaks which of course reduces water consumption. Right now, those places that do not implement this or a similar mechanism lose between 20 and 50% of the water coming out of the deposits. As explained above, fraud is also detected, which reduces illegal water consumption. In addition, there are also cases in which the owner of a house leaves a tap open by mistake and realizes it when after a while the bill arrives, however, with this mechanism the company that performs hourly readings is able to detect water leaks. This means that water is not wasted and the consumer does not pay for water that has not been used

In previous sections we have mentioned the importance that reducing the carbon footprint has for Arson Data Metering, given its relevance in reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. This commitment to sustainable development relates to SDG 13 and becomes a great benefit for society and the environment. Its activity, as mentioned by Amador Martínez in the interview, has been affected by the new measures implemented, as they have had to change the processes in their departments to make them less polluting. However, these changes are essential so that the greenhouse effect does not cause more irreversible consequences on the planet. This is an urgent and top priority issue that all companies should address as Arson Data Metering has done.

Finally, in relation to SGD 3, which promotes healthy living and wellness for everyone at all ages, this company has something special. It may seem that its activity has a purely environmental impact, but the members of the company wanted to go further. By using technology that measures the water activity of different customers if they detect any anomalies they make sure that nothing serious happens. This is best seen with the following example, if an elderly lady has not used the water all day, they call that customer to make sure everything is okay. In this way, they also show concern for their customers on a human level and not only on an environmental level.

Interview

Amador Martínez, CEO