We are honored to introduce Ing. Lawrence Saliba to the Green Deal platform! In his article, Lawrence Saliba gives us a brief overview of what SmartGenie is about. He begins by providing a background on Malta’s water stress level. He then explains how energy is the significant cost factor in seawater desalination, pumping, distribution, and water supply treatment. Therefore, efficiency in the desalination process is essential. SmartGenie has developed an intelligent leak detection solution to help with this issue, being installed on all types of old/new plumbing systems!
As a semi-arid Mediterranean country with few indigenous sources of natural sources of freshwater, Malta is in the top five poorest water countries in the World having the highest water stress level in Europe. This sector is likely to face additional pressures, especially in the face of exacerbated climate change impacts, continued resident population growth, and economic expansion having unprecedented economic growth during this last decade.
Energy is a significant cost factor in seawater desalination, pumping, distribution, and treatment of water supply. Over the years, significant developments have been made by the national water utility to reduce the specific energy requirements and therefore its operational costs. However, the dependence on water desalination plants is becoming more of a concern. Sixty percent of the total consumption is supplied from desalination plants having plans to increase the supply to seventy percent to increase quality water levels.
With every cubic of water generated from desalination plants, consuming on average 3KWh of electricity or 2.5Kg of C02 greenhouse emissions, the focus should be given most to the need to conserve water and increase efficiency in the cycle of water production. Improved leakage management and increased water use efficiency lower the demand on desalination plants, in turn further reducing the overall energy requirement required to generate pot water that would otherwise be wasted to drain.
Efficiency gains can be addressed from a better and more efficient supply and more effective water usage by the end users. The diction of taking water supply for granted needs to change, and effort should be given to educating the public about the importance of fully utilizing pot water, as when we save water, we are saving electricity and reducing greenhouse gases.
A small leak that dips very slowly, can fill a glass of water in 5 minutes and if it is left unnoticed it would accumulate to 30,000 litres of Escape Of Water (EOW) or 30 cubic metres per year. A very common cause of EOW mostly originates from faulty or leaking toilet cisterns. A faulty cistern, if left unnoticed, would consume almost 10 times as much EOW per year as compared to the former leak.
In view of the national significant challenges to Malta’s drive towards sustainability and decarbonization, the role of research and innovation is expected to play a critical role. From National Office Statistics private and rental household sectors happened to become the highest water demand sector. Therefore, Smart cities will be a key component and significant contributor toward the transition to carbon neutrality and sustainability. Knowing that the starting point in the realization of smart cities starts from smart homes effort needs to be taken to educate and expose the tangible benefit outcomes that add value to the realm of moving to smart homes/cities.
Water is the fundamental driving force of our vitality, it thus forms a crucial component contributing to enhancing the prosperity of our country and the quality of life of its citizens. Faced with the above challenges, ‘SmartGenie ltd’ will be launching an innovative Smart water leak detection solution. It is an end-to-end water prevention system assisting insurers with risk management and claim mitigation. Alerts the customer with small issues and economically fixes the problems before it comes to claims. It ensures full utilization of pot water, helping our country to relieve the high water stress level and marks an X to leaks. SmartGenie Ltd will pride itself to help in the efforts for sustainable water use and ensure that water supplies are not being depleted to drain as a result of leaks.
SmartWaterGenie is the solution that can be installed on all types of old/new plumbing systems. The solution integrates with the internet of things such as motion sensors, smart switches/plugs, smart voice-based home assistants, and mobile phone location and therefore it would become a prelude towards the realm of SmartHomes. Smart Water Genie is Smart because it integrates with Smart Internet Of Things IoT.[1] It is Water Genie because the intelligent Genie continues to monitor for leaks, automatically shuts off supply water, and alert customers of drop-in line pressure. SWG makes every water drop count, and is an investment both at the micro and macro level.
For more information about SmartWaterGenie and SmartGenie Ltd, send an email to info@smartgenie.com.mt.
[1] Smart IoT is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.
Contributor(s)
Ing Lawrence Saliba
Lawrence Saliba is a warranted Electrical Engineer, married with two children, and spent 37 years in the telecommunication sector. At the age of 55, he started a new startup company SmartGenie and followed his passion for entrepreneurship.
The company will be launching an innovative Smart water leak detection solution. It is an end-to-end water prevention system assisting insurers with risk management and claim mitigation. Alerts the customer with small issues and economically fixes the problems before it comes to claims. It ensures full utilization of pot water, helping our country to relieve the high water stress level and marks an X to leaks.
