Schneider Launches Water Network, Data Center Modules

Schneider Electric is one of several companies today announcing the creation of Smart Water Networks (SWAN), a global industry alliance to promote the development of data-driven systems to improve water network management.

The alliance aims to promote the enhanced processing of collected data, in order to increase the efficiency of water distribution networks and improve infrastructure management for both vendors and utilities. A new layer of smart data applications is now possible because of the increasing role of instrumentation and telemetry in the industry, SWAN founders say.

The first SWAN Forum is being held today and tomorrow at Schneider’s corporate headquarters, where alliance leaders and members will discuss the opportunities, challenges and next steps in promoting the adoption of smart water networks. The Forum will also showcase solutions designed to improve the measurement, capture and analysis of data.

“SWAN is a complete ecosystem created to support the development of smart water networks for system integrators, industry experts and leaders in the water industry,” said Guy Horowitz, Chairman of SWAN and Vice President for Marketing of TaKaDu. “As water network management becomes increasingly complex and generates an ever-growing volume of data, it was vital for industrials to join forces to propose smart solutions.”

A smarter water network means that we can improve energy efficiency while also optimizing the process, whether for drinking water distribution or wastewater treatment,” notes Pascal Bonnefoi, Schneider Electric Water Segment Director. “This forum provides an excellent opportunity for every participant to drive innovation, based on feedback from different contributors working in the field.”

So far 17 companies, including Derceto, Echologics, i20 Water and Telvent, have joined the alliance.

Schneider Electric has also unveiled a modular data power and cooling product (pictured). Such pre-assembled modules are 60 percent faster and 20 to 30 percent cheaper to deploy than traditional data and cooling infrastructure, the company said in a white paper (pdf).

The white paper compares the costs of traditional systems and facility modules, also referred to as containerized power and cooling plants, and identifies environments best suited to each.