Disruptive water measurment
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Sustainable Innovation i Sverige AB |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 500 000 |
| Project duration | August 2014 - July 2015 |
| Status | Completed |
Purpose and goal
With our competition we wanted to encourage the development of innovative and cost effective solutions for individual metering and billing of water and hot water in existing properties. We specifically wanted to support the development of solutions going beyond water volume and energy to find innovative ways to achieve behavioral impact. We received 11 both behavior-oriented solutions and technologically advanced contributions. The competition has increased the interest in individual water metering but requires further efforts to truly achieve significant effects.
Results and expected effects
We received surprisingly many contributions to a competition in a narrow niche, and with modest advertising. We received eleven exciting contributions, a winner and two honorable mentions. We expect that the majority of the contributed solutions will lead to products. Work is already underway and we expect to contribute in various ways, e. g. with verification projects and test beds in cooperation with the real estate industry (including companies involved in the competition jury).
Approach and implementation
The set-up was very simple and the advertising modest. We would have liked more attention for the competition, but the quality of the entries was still surprisingly high. Facebook proved to be the best channel to reach contributors. The assessment of the contributions was not unproblematic. Our criteria - cost, innovation potential, sustainability - were not that easy to use. Water measurement is a global challenge of importance for Swedish innovators. Unfortunately, the interest in Sweden is still too small, not least among authorities like Boverket.