FLUID: The Smart Water Meter

By January 20, 2017 R&D Tax Credits

Have you ever wondered how many gallons of water your household uses? A recent study published that the average American utilizes 80 to 100 gallons of water each day. This is a critical topic since California is still experiencing a drought. It is our duty to learn different ways on how to mitigate the damage.

Two entrepreneurs came up with a smart water meter, FLUID, which reads where, when, and how much water a household consumes on a daily basis. FLUID’s co-founders’ ultimate goal is for consumers to be more aware of their water usage. Since a water bill only demonstrates water usage in units, unless one converts the measurement to gallons, a consumer wouldn’t be able to acknowledge how much water they are consuming on a daily basis.

FLUID is very easy to install and operate. One has to simply snap the meter onto the home’s principal water pipe and sync the smart meter onto a Wi-Fi connection. To access real-time water usage statistics, the customer has to download the FLUID app which is available to iPhone and Android users. The meter is able to measure consumption through water pulsations that are then converted into electrical signals and later can be read as statistics on the FLUID app.

As mentioned above, FLUID is also able to determine where the water usage comes from. Each appliance has a specific water “run rate”. The tricky step is to teach the meter how to differentiate each appliance’s water run rate. With the app’s assistance, one can instruct FLUID to listen to a specific appliance’s “run rate” for a typical duration, i.e. a toilet flush or dryer cycle. Once FLUID memorizes the different “run rates”, it can distinguish where the water is coming from when several appliances are running at the same time. This technology can also alert a consumer of a possible water leak immediately before the house starts flooding and the bill surpasses the budget.

Having readily available statistics of how much water one consumes on a daily basis, especially if you live in California, will compel consumers to be conscious about water conservation. Subsequently, this water conservation will save you money, thus it is a win-win situation for everyone!

The countless prototypes FLUID produced to fine-tune the water filter are considered R&D activities when applying for the Research and Development Tax Credit. The federal and state tax credit is available for companies like FLUID that constantly keep improving and innovating their product. Contact the Indago team to see how we can increase your company’s market value and boost its bottom line through these federal and state tax incentives. To learn more about the Research and Development Tax Credit visit the Indago website www.indagotax.com or email us at [email protected]. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.