French IoT companies Kerlink and Hydrao are combining their technologies to install a smart-shower system for a large chain of US hostels that is expected to reduce water use by up to 3.7 million litres a year.

Hydrao makes smart demand-management systems that enable water and energy savings. It will install the system for Hostelling International USA (HI USA), a nonprofit with more than 30 hostels.

This deployment of a large-scale LoRa smart-shower network will show HI USA’s overnight guests in real time how much water they are using while showering, via a coloured-LED sequence, much like a traffic light.

HI USA’s nationwide, LoRaWan-based smart-shower programme uses a smart showerhead, Cereus, and platform made by French start-up Hydrao. The device uses coloured-LEDs that go from green to red to raise users’ awareness of their consumption, based on water usage in real time, empowering them to take shorter showers; the nudge effect.

HI USA hosts more than 1.15 million overnight guests annually and calculates that if each guest reduces his or her showering time by 30 seconds, the programme will save more than 3.7 million litres of water annually.

“At HI USA, we believe personal experiences create the highest impact, both now and in the future,” said Russ Hedge, HI USA CEO. “Through this initiative, guests receive real-time feedback on their showering routine and are empowered to reduce their water consumption in a fun, meaningful way. This initiative is designed to conveniently change showering habits at our hostels and when our guests return home.”

The chain evaluated available IoT options to find the one that offered the simplest deployment, highest reliability, good return on investment and continual monitoring of water consumption.

“We chose Hydrao’s platform and Kerlink’s gateways for our facilities because they offer a proven, reliable and smart solution that helps our customers monitor their water use and will help HI USA record and analyse water consumption across our chain of hostels,” said Hedge.

The smart LoRa showerheads track volume, temperature and water flow in real time. Those data are transmitted to the cloud via Kerlink’s Wirnet iFemtoCell LoRaWan gateways, which were designed for reliable indoor IoT connectivity, and displayed in customers’ building-management systems or smartphones through Hydrao’s web interface.

“Kerlink’s extensive experience in a wide variety of IoT network deployments around the world has proven the company to be a reliable and expert partner to deploy this,” said Eric Burkel, head of international development at Hydrao. “Our joint project with HI USA shows the huge potential for water andenergy conservation that our combined technologies and simple solutions offer the global hotel sector.”

Romain Weryk, Kerlink key account manager, added: “HI USA has chosen an innovative, instructive and user-friendly system to remind its guests to help reduce water use, and the energy required to heat it. This deployment shows the way for other chains to tap into LoRaWan technology to make better use of their assets, while reducing water and energy consumption, and operating costs.”

More than 120,000 Kerlink installations have been rolled out with more than 330 clients in 69 countries. Based in France, with subsidiaries in the USA, Singapore, India and Japan, Kerlink is a co-founder and board member of the LoRa Alliance and the uCIFI Alliance. Hydrao is French water-tech and data start-up, and a provider of smart demand-management systems for water conservation and management. It installed the world’s first LoRa smart-shower network in HI USA’s Boston hotel, allowing for remote control, real-time data collection and data visualisation and analysis in a web interface.