Viabilidade técnica e econômica de tecnologias para redução de perdas de água em cidades inteligentes – aplicação a Benchmark

Abstract

Population growth has socioeconomic and environmental implications that can put pressure on natural resources, infrastructure, and health services. Thus, the role of smart cities becomes essential for efficient resource management. The adoption of sustainable technologies and the optimization of water, energy, and transportation are some of the premises of a smart city. The study presented in this dissertation seeks new technologies linked to water distribution systems, including IoT, AI, and Digital Twins, linking these technologies to reductions in supply losses. With the initial methodological steps, the cost of technological implementations was surveyed in existing companies in Brazil. Subsequently, a benchmark system was built for a hypothetical distribution system using real data. Some assumptions were made for the analysis, among which was the initial assumption that this implementation would reduce losses by up to 10%. The analysis was verified in 15 scenarios in order to maximize the number of attempts in the study. Thus, it was possible to evaluate its profitability in terms of payback, framing the greatest reduction in losses. The expected result is one that reduces the highest percentage of losses and has the lowest payback, i.e., the shortest return on investment. Scenario 8 presented significant data, reducing distribution losses by up to 10% through the implementation of smart water metering technology. The scenario contemplates implementation in 75% of existing connections and a return on investment (payback) of 3 years. It can be concluded that a payback period of three years for a 10% reduction in losses is economically viable, since the initial investment would be recouped in the third year of a ten-year period.