As the effects of climate change become more pronounced and customer needs evolve, water utilities need to quickly adapt to a resource-constrained future. Whether the focus is conservation, adaptation, customer equity, system operations or delivering a superior customer experience, Copper Labs’ data-driven solutions can help utilities and their customers better cope with increased demand and dwindling supply in the new climate reality.
Level up your conservation and adaptation initiatives
Copper’s high-resolution meter data enables cost-effective behavioral energy efficiency, leak detection, and granular customer segmentation and targeting. Our data can even allow water utilities to explore new rate structures—such as time-of-use or dynamic pricing—that are currently being implemented by energy utilities to help better manage demand, particularly given increasingly variable supply. Plus, by combining near-real-time data with an intuitive yet powerful utility portal, Copper opens the door to behavioral water conservation efforts at the times it’s most needed and allows for precise measurement and verification (M&V) of efficiency impacts.
Boost customer equity
Low and moderate-income customers stand to benefit the most from actionable water insights and conservation programs. With Copper’s hardware, utilities can empower these customers by showing them how they currently use water, offer relevant and tailored water management suggestions, and provide mid-cycle high bill alerts to help them proactively manage their utility bills and better plan budgets. And because these customers often have smart phones but may not have reliable Wi-Fi access, Copper’s outdoor collector is uniquely well-suited to reaching and engaging these customers.
Deliver a top-tier customer experience
Copper’s high-resolution meter data and user-friendly mobile app can help utilities offer customers specific and timely insights into how they’re using water and deliver actionable tips on how best to manage their water consumption. Our solution offers personalized utility messaging, and opens the door to mid-cycle billing alerts so customers can understand if they’re on track for a high or low water bill.
Improve operations and planning
Accessing timely high-resolution meter data is an essential part of water system modernization. Copper’s solution can deliver better-quality data than “smart” AMI meters using existing drive-by AMR infrastructure. Using the insights we unlock, utilities can improve load forecasting and pump scheduling, quantify potential implications of water restrictions or regional climate impacts, and better understand customer-level water demand. Compared with AMI metering, we can help you keep costs low while delivering expanded benefits by pairing Copper’s hardware with less-expensive—and, with Copper, better-performing—AMR metering infrastructure.
Managing Water Demand With Real-Time Data And Customer Engagement
Sterling Ranch is a resource-conscious, smart community dedicated to sustainability located 20 miles south of Denver. The community has established a water resource management program that uses Copper’s solution to provide real-time usage data to residents in every new home that’s built. The project also includes real-time notifications, personalized goal-setting options, and insights to homeowners to alert them to abnormal water usage.