Author Archive
Something’s coming. It’s going to be great!
February 8, 2012
We’re literally counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds until the start of our next big adventure. When the zeros line up on this countdown clock the Stanford Water Wars 2012 will begin in earnest with Aquacue’s water monitoring technology measuring water use, detecting leaks, and ranking the contenders—in real time. Synchronize your timepiece; the water fight starts at midnight, February 12. It’s going to be great!
Just Say Aquacue
February 6, 2012Here’s a video overview of the UC Merced Water Battle, held last fall. Aquacue’s technology provided real-time water data to on-campus student residents via the competition dashboard.
The student leaders developed a fantastic outreach program, achieving a 14% water savings during the competition. We’re delighted to be showcased in this campus Impact video! Thanks, UC Merced!
Big Water
February 3, 2012
Dr. David Zetland is one of Aquacue’s esteemed advisors and our go-to guy with big thoughts on big water issues. He examines how economic instruments can help shape policy, distribution and pricing of our favorite resource: water. David is currently collaborating with the Economic Policy Instruments for Water Sustainability in Europe. He’s also a senior water economist at Wageningen University, The Netherlands.
Recently, David was in our neck of the woods on Wednesday speaking at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. If you missed it you can get the gist of his talk by reading his thought provoking and important book: The End of Abundance: Economic Solutions to Water Scarcity, available in paper, pdf, and Kindle. It’s on our bookshelf at Aquacue. We’re also big fans of his blog, Aquanomics. Read it!
Aquacue Opens the Kimono
January 30, 2012We’re staking the claim that no one makes real-time water data more compelling than Aquacue. And we’re delivering on that claim by releasing Wave 1.0 dashboard for single Barnacle users (i.e. residences and Pilot Pack customers.) Wave 1.0 has a simply beautiful, interactive interface loaded with features and attractions.
But don’t take our word for it, experience it for yourself.
To access a real live Aquacue Wave account go here and type demo as the user name and demo as the password. Then have at it: zoom into the charts, double click the bars, toggle the overlays, and scroll around the map view.
Sign in frequently to track this user’s water consumption and you’ll see the vicissitudes of daily life, represented through water. We think it’s fascinating.
While it’s always fun to snoop at someone else’s water data, imagine how much more rewarding it would be to look at your own!
If you are a large commercial water user or facility manager and you need to get a handle on your water expenses try Aquacue’s Pilot Pack. You’ll get a single Barnacle with three-month access to Wave analytics software for a low, low price of $997.
It’s a simple to install, easy to use, low-risk trial, and we’ll bet money you’ll discover a leak. (It happens every time.)
Email info@aquacue.com to learn how to get your Aquacue Pilot Pack.
Wave 1.0 dashboard is browser compatible with Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer 9. Internet Explorer 8 users, please download Google Chrome Frame plugin for optimum results.
Welcome Reza!
January 27, 2012
It takes a quite a bit of ingenuity to bring simple, easy and innovative solutions to big, real-world problems. Towards that end Dr. Reza Kassayan has recently joined Aquacue’s advisory board as an engineering consultant and technical advisor.
Reza’s specialty is designing ultra-miniaturized embedded computing devices and applications for medical, aerospace, and telemetric industries. Reza brings his broad expertise and brilliant inventiveness to assist Aquacue’s engineering efforts. We look forward to implementing his design contributions and making our products more simple, easy and innovative. Welcome, Reza!
Announcing the Aquacue Pilot Pack
January 25, 2012We’re offering qualified customers an easy way to try our water management products and services: the Aquacue Pilot Pack. It’s a short-term, low-commitment way to experience our innovative products first hand.
The Pilot Pack comes with one Barnacle, a measuring and monitoring device that attaches to any meter in minutes and transmits water data to our servers in the cloud. Along with the Barnacle customers get 3-months access to Aquacue’s Wave analytics software that reports and displays real-time water data via any web browser.
So what’s unique about Aquacue’s approach to water management?
1. Real-time water data delivered in 15-minute increments so customers can investigate leaks, find inefficiencies and reduce water expenses.
2. The Barnacle works with any installed meter; there’s no pipe cutting, digging, or meter upgrade.
3. Water data is transmitted by the Barnacle via the existing cell network. It’s not only wireless, it’s wire-free. No external power supply needed.
4. Aquacue Wave’s simple, graphical dashboard is accessed securely over the Internet so there’s no software to install or manage. Real-time water data starts from the meter and ends up on any browser or smart phone.
If you’re a large commercial or institutional facility manager and you want to experience Aquacue’s simple, easy approach to water management contact us at info@aquacue.com. The Aquacue Pilot Pack is $997 for a 3-month trial run. Start learning about the water flowing through your pipes; there’s nothing to lose and water to save.
Water Guru on Board!
January 24, 2012
Marty Laporte—one of our earliest adopters and top among our loyal customers—has recently agreed to join the Aquacue Advisory Board. Marty is a seasoned water professional versed in all manner of water management. She has initiated many water efficiency and water conservation studies and programs at Stanford University in her role as Associate Director, Environmental Quality & Water Conservation in the department of Sustainability and Energy Management.
She’s a leader among state, regional and urban water/sustainability managers, and has published and presented on conservation measures and many best management practices. We look forward to a long and enriching collaboration with Marty. You can read her brief bio on Aquacue’s website but we wanted to be a little bit more effusive about her here. Welcome, Marty!
Farvel Morten!
January 6, 2012
Today is Morten’s last day as an Aquanaut. He’s going back to the land of the Vikings to finish his Master’s Degree. His sunny personality kept the clouds away from Northern California, making it the driest December on record! He also made many valuable contributions to our worthy endeavor. Here he is raising a glass to the future of Aquacue! We raise a glass in return.
Farewell, Morten!
Water Battle Redux
December 20, 2011Wow-wee! The hits just keep on coming! Aquacue has been wondering about the lingering effects of last October’s Water Battle among student residence halls at UC Merced. We just compared the nine Valley Terraces halls’ water consumption from November to October and found that students continued to reduce their water consumption by an additional 6% month over month! (Note: the students achieved a 14% water savings during the month-long water battle—and now have a two-month water savings of 20% since the beginning of the school year.)
In calculating the numbers we normalized 6 days of water usage to account for the long Thanksgiving holiday and for the extra day in October, and the residents still came in 30,200 gallons UNDER their water use in October. Amazing!
Our conclusion: the Water Battle did what it was supposed to do—help student residents reduce their water use and improve UC Merced’s water efficiency. The numbers prove it. Congratulations, UC Merced! Stay dry!
