FAQs

• How many meters can we monitor at once?

  We offer a range of technology solutions so whether you want to monitor just a single main meter, all common area meters or you want a fully embedded network throughout all apartments, SUMS has an appropriate hardware solution.

  For more complex sub metering projects, we conduct an audit, either on site or over the phone as appropriate, before suggesting the best technology and design solutions to match your monitoring requirements.

  Learn more about SUMS Australian-made data logging solutions and their key features, including our LoRA VPN innovation that can monitor up to 8 utility meters from a single LoRa node.

• I think this is great, but how can I convince by strata/executive committee to invest?

  SUMS has been integral for strata buildings in realising both direct and indirect benefits. The most notable direct benefit comes from real monetary savings. By monitoring usage in real time, buildings can quickly identify and resolve sudden excess water and energy usage events, as well as understanding building usage patterns in order to improve regular usage behaviour.

  Ultimately this means:

  • lower total costs on utility bills and
  • reduced load on common infrastructure that saves money in the long run.

  Indirect benefits include:

  • tracking ROI on capital improvement projects,
  • identifying overcrowding in apartments,
  • increasing sustainability which can positively affect building value and public interest,
  • comparing building performance to key industry benchmarks (for example, best practice water usage for strata buildings in Sydney is 200 litres per bedroom per day),
  • using sub metering to more fairly allocate bills based on usage instead of entitlements, and
  • ultimately giving residents more freedom about how they want to allocate resource savings, whether that means reducing levies or freeing up resources for other important investments.
• Can you tell me where the inefficiencies are in my building?

  No, unfortunately we can’t tell you exactly where your inefficiencies are, but we have lots of ways to help. Adding sub metering throughout your property is one of the best ways to pinpoint and isolate usage.

  We can also help you look at your data, identify trends and give tips about where to investigate further. By understanding the buildings unique usage patterns and recognising changes or spikes, building managers have been able to use SUMS to reduce base flows, reduce peak electricity demands, and quickly resolve issues that would have remained hidden for months until the next quarterly bill was issued. Check out some of these case studies to learn more.

• We’re just normal people on a strata committee with no engineering or data backgrounds—will the SUMS portal be useful to us?

  Yes! We have designed SUMS to be simple and intuitive, yet still powerful and effective. It’s used by year 2 students as a learning tool in the classroom to environmental engineers using SUMS data in building audit reports.
  Furthermore, we provide training to every new customer and can orchestrate large group trainings for your entire committee.