Kerlink & HYDRAO Team Up to Enable US Hospitality Chain To Save Water with Smart-Shower Network

Hostelling International USA Is Deploying an Internet of Things System In More than 30 Hostels; Expects to Reduce Water Use by up to 1 Million Gallons a Year

PRESS RELEASE

Thorigné-Fouillard and Grenoble, France – March 30, 2021, 6:00 p.m. CEST – Two French Internet of Things companies are combining their technologies to install a smart-shower system for a large chain of U.S. hostels that is expected to reduce water use by up to 1 million gallons a year. Kerlink (AKLK – FR0013156007), a specialist in solutions dedicated to the Internet of Things (IoT), and HYDRAO, which makes smart demandmanagement solutions that enable significant water and energy savings, will install the solution for Hostelling International USA, (HI USA), a U.S. nonprofit with more than 30 hostels.

The world's-first deployment of a large-scale LoRa® smart-shower network will show HI USA's overnight guests in real time how much water they are using while showering, via a colored-LED sequence (much like a traffic light).

HI USA's nationwide, LoRaWAN®-based SmartShower program uses a smart showerhead, CEREUS, and platform made by HYDRAO, a French startup. The device uses colored-LEDs that go from green-to-red to raise users' awareness of their consumption, based on water usage in real-time, empowering them to take shorter showers (the "nudge" effect).

HI USA hosts more than 1.15 million overnight guests annually and calculates that if each guest reduces his or her showering time by 30 seconds, the SmartShower program will save more than a million gallons of water annually.

"At HI USA we believe personal experiences create the highest impact, both now and in the future," said Russ Hedge, HI USA CEO. "Through this initiative, guests receive real-time feedback on their showering routine and are empowered to reduce their water consumption in a fun, meaningful way. This initiative is designed to conveniently change showering habits at our hostels and when our guests return home."

"We evaluated available IoT solutions to find the one that offered the simplest deployment, highest reliability, good return on investment and continual monitoring of water consumption," Hedge said. "We chose HYDRAO's platform and Kerlink's gateways for our facilities because they offer a proven, reliable and smart solution that helps our customers monitor their water use and will help HI USA record and analyze water consumption across our chain of hostels."

The smart LoRa® HYDRAO showerheads track volume, temperature and water flow in real-time. That data is transmitted to the cloud via Kerlink's WirnetTM iFemtoCell LoRaWAN gateways, which were designed for reliable indoor IoT connectivity, and displayed in customers' building-management systems or smartphones through HYDRAO's web interface.

"Kerlink's extensive experience in a wide variety of IoT network deployments around the world has proven the company to be a reliable and expert partner to deploy this kind of solution," said Eric Burkel, co-founder and head of international development at HYDRAO. "Our joint project with HI USA shows the huge potential for water and energy conservation that our combined technologies and simple solutions offer the global hotel sector."

Kerlink & HYDRAO Team Up to Enable US Hospitality Chain To Save Water with Smart-Shower Network

Hostelling International USA Is Deploying an Internet of Things System In More than 30 Hostels; Expects to Reduce Water Use by up to 1 Million Gallons a Year

"HI USA has chosen an innovative, instructive and user-friendly system to remind its guests to help reduce water use, and the energy required to heat it," said Romain Weryk, Kerlink key account manager. "This deployment shows the way for other chains to tap into LoRaWAN® technology to make better use of their assets, while reducing water and energy consumption – and operating costs."

About Kerlink

Kerlink Group is a leading global provider of connectivity solutions for designing, launching, and operating public & private Internet of Things networks. Its comprehensive product portfolio includes industrial-grade network equipment, best-of-breed network core, operations and management software, value-added applications and expert professional services, backed by strong R&D capabilities. Kerlink specializes in enabling future-proof intelligent IoT connectivity for three major domains: Smart Cities – metering, parking, street lighting, waste management, air quality & pollution, building & facilities, assets monitoring… Smart Industries – fleet & asset tracking, energy & utilities, oil, gas & mining, airports, harbors, infrastructure, manufacturing, retail… and Smart Territories – precision agriculture, environment protection and rural towns & areas. More than 120,000 Kerlink installations have been rolled out with more than 330 clients in 69 countries. Based in France, with subsidiaries in the US, Singapore, India, and Japan, Kerlink is a co-founder and board member of the LoRa Alliance® and the uCIFI Alliance™. It is listed on Euronext Growth Paris under the symbol ALKLK.

For more information, visit https://www.kerlink.com/ or follow us on Twitter @kerlink_news.

About HYDRAO

HYDRAO is French water-tech & data startup, and leading provider of smart demand-management solutions for water conservation and management. HYDRAO installed the world's first LoRa smart-shower network in HI USA's Boston hotel, allowing for remote control, real-time data collection and data visualization/analysis in our web interface. Our leading-edge Nudge technology solutions are ideal for installations where users/guests' water is included in the price of the service: hotels, long-stay accommodation, rentals, vacation/seasonal rentals, student housing, & co-living.

Visit https://pro.hydrao.com for more information about our smart solutions to drive water AND energy savings.