Founded in 2015 by five young entrepreneurs with a passion for promoting conscious consumption of water, WEGoT’s product VenAqua aims to support the adoption of sustainable water use practices at residential and commercial properties. Since its inception as an end-to-end water management solutions provider, WeGoT has been instrumental in changing the way people treat water. Having understood the promise of emerging technology like IoT, the group ventured to develop VenAqua, a sensor-based Internet of Things (IoT) device and a software platform that can be connected to water inlet pipes and monitor water consumption.
Talking to Abilash Haridass, co-founder and CMO of WEGoT, we find out more about the sensors and the app.
Haridass says that a recent water report states that 21 metro cities will run out of water by 2020 and the majority of Indian water resources will run dry by 2030. “Residential properties account for a large portion of India’s water consumption. Water is one luxury that needs to be conserved efficiently and as a company, we attempt to leverage technology to solve water crisis and check instances of water theft and inlet water quality in major cities in India,” says Haridass.
He explains that WEGoT’s sensor-based Internet of Things (IoT) device and a software platform VenAqua, help to reduce the demand for water by more than 50 per cent by tracking real time flow. “Sensors installed in individual apartments track water usage to give daily reports which are then collected from various installations and analysed and the insights are shared with the end-users on a mobile app,” says Haridass.
The software further tracks usage patterns, which helps building owners know the water required to be stored in tanks. It also detects leakages, abnormal water usage and inefficient water infrastructure, and informs users and facility managers in real-time. As a result, people become more accountable and decrease their consumption by making real-time decisions.
Haridass says that everywhere around us, we see billboards and messages to save water but nobody gives a quantifiable and actionable way to do so. “This is because consumers do not have access to or insights on the right data to take the next step. However, WEGoT’s technology offers a solution for just that,” he points out.
Traditional water meters are from mechanical companies and are turbine-based solutions that cannot detect air passing through pipes and drop leakages which can be avoided with WEGoT’s technology since it is tamper-proof, Haridass adds. The app, VenAqua then helps in water management system by checking instances of water theft and inlet water quality. “VenAqua helps generate usage-based water bills. Currently, most building complexes have flat charges for water but the app tracks usage of every apartment and bills each resident accordingly,” says the co-founder.
Talking about the features of the app, Haridass says that the app provides every home owner details of water consumption along with the breakup of kitchen and bathroom level water consumption. It enables people to remotely shut off the power supply. “Monthly water bills to the association can be paid right from the mobile app which also provides trends and history of consumption,” says Haridass.
The Web Dashboard provides the facility manager with a bird’s eye view of the consumption level across the entire property — individual apartments, WTP, STP, clubhouses, irrigation, etc with the ability to drill down to specific units. He points out that the user is at the heart of the app. “The mobile app has been designed to be extremely intuitive and user friendly for anyone — from 9 to 90-year-olds,” says Haridass.
It is safe to say that incorporating technology in water management proves to be impactful. Since the technology provides real time monitoring of water consumption, and generates insights on the supply and consumption, people can take decisions towards consistent water supply and efficient consumption of water. “The solution has helped save up to 50 per cent of the water consumed across 30000 homes and 1 billion litres of water across 20 mn sq ft of commercial space,” says Haridass.
The solution is offered on subscription, wherein the company gives the product free and users pay nominal monthly fee of Rs 149 (residential) / 20 paise per sq ft (commercial) apart from installation charges.
For more information log on to http://www.wegot.in/
