SWI
About
Who we are
The Smart Water Informatics (SWI) Research Network was formed in 2013 to bring together work in intelligent metering by the Institute for Sustainable Futures (University of Technology, Sydney), Griffith University and their collaborators.
The Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) was established as a flagship research institute of the University of Technology, Sydney, in 1996. The Institute's mission is to create change towards sustainable futures through independent, project-based research.
ISF is also active in energy research including smart metering. Read more about ISF here.
What is smart water informatics?
In the coming decade, the deployment of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) will transition from being predominantly “pilot or demonstration scale” with the occasional city-wide roll-out, to broader mainstream implementation.
This means that issues which have hitherto received little focus must now be addressed, namely: the role of real-time data in customer engagement, demand management and water using practices; data ownership, sharing and privacy; data management and analytics, and costs and benefits of implementation.
AMI is deemed ‘intelligent’ because it provides a more detailed picture of water and energy use. Unlike conventional accumulation water meters for example, which are typically read every quarter, intelligent meters can provide data on a near real-time basis.
This data can be used to provide households with more detailed information about their water use, such as suspected leaks and an ‘end use’ breakdown (e.g. showers, toilets) of consumption, through a range of feedback methods, including online websites, smart phone access, a home water use report or ‘smart bills’.
