News
– The project’s objective is to provide information to managers and residents of short-stay residential environments to promote a more sustainable water use
– The initiative will cross-reference data from water and energy meters and the climate system with meteorological information and consumption surveys, integrating them into a digital tool
The hlhAigua project will leverage conventional water and energy meters along with climate data and consumption surveys to identify leaks and water usage patterns in short-stay residential environments or flex living spaces. This data will feed Artificial Intelligence (AI) models and be transformed into clear and actionable information for managers and residents, with the goal of promoting more responsible and sustainable water use.
The project proposes a solution to the challenge posed by residences with high tenant turnover and variable occupancy, where water consumption can fluctuate easily. This situation complicates efficient management and maintenance, as leaks or measurement errors in meters can go unnoticed. As a result, operational decisions are often based on intuition rather than objective data.
hlhAigua collects data from meters in each dwelling and consolidates it on the LOLA platform to provide useful information for managers and residents. The platform integrates data corresponding to energy and cold and hot water volume along with the building’s climate control system, cross-referencing it with meteorological data and water consumption surveys from residents to understand the specific context of each apartment. With periodic sampling every seven minutes, hlhAigua builds robust time series and cross-references them with additional data sources to extract knowledge about water uses and possible anomalies, always preserving residents’ privacy.
The initiative will enable contextual detection of water uses and anomalies that goes beyond existing market solutions. The alerts from Simon’s LOLA platform will show which factors weighed most heavily in the system’s decision, providing transparency and confidence in the suggested actions.
“The collaboration between two technology centers and a large company facilitates the project presenting a solid technology, based on a real-use context and with a clear path toward exploitation. Cetaqua-Water Technology Center contributes with expertise in water anomaly detection and water footprint calculation, i2CAT leads the modeling of water uses and Simon integrates the solution within the LOLA operational platform with differentiated interfaces for managers and residents,” details Alba B. Rosado, Knowledge and Brand Ecosystem Manager at Simon.
Those residents who participate in consumption surveys will receive a report explaining their water footprint —that is, how much water they have consumed— and offering simple tips to reduce their bill.
“Calculating the water footprint in residential environments is key to raising awareness about the impact of our daily consumption of this precious resource. Making this information available to users allows them to better understand how and how much they consume, and helps them make more informed decisions,” points out Carolina Villa, hlhAigua researcher at Cetaqua.
Find more information about the project on this website.
The hlhAigua initiative has received support from the European Union-NextGenerationEU through the Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia channeled through the Departamento de Empresa y Trabajo of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
