Terra M: A Comprehensive Solution for Automation and Protection of UV System 

A few months before, during an autumn shower… 

The cattle at our client’s farm in Spain are happy when the rains arrive. Not because they could hang out all day in the rain, but also because of the availability of fresh drinking water. The livestock farm owned by our client had an open water basin fed with rainwater as one of its drinking water sources. The water was passed through a UV disinfection system for purification. The client had run a smooth business with a handful of dairy product manufacturing companies as their leading customers.  

However, during the recent autumn shower, our client noticed a significant decrease in milk production and a noticeable drop in the cattle weight gain. Despite the welcoming drizzles outdoors, the herd preferred the cozy indoors. Something is not right. They made a checklist of suspects: 

• Expiry date of fodder 

• Insects in the haystack 

• Sufficient ventilation 

• Drinking water! 

Yes, it was then that they observed scales in the quartz sleeve of the UV lamp. It was time to replace the lamp, which was inefficient against treating pathogens and micro-organisms in the water. The lamp was replaced. However, the client approached us for an automatic solution to prevent late detection of maintenance. Besides, they were also apprehensive about the protection of their UV system, fearing the introduction of an external controller for maintenance might affect the sensitive functioning of the UV system. We promised a safe solution that will not only enhance the protection of their UV system with prompt alerts but also boost its overall performance. 

From our wide experience, TerraConnect realized that instead of putting a Band-Aid on the symptom, we had to treat the cause. Our aim to find the reason for scaling helped us arrive at conclusions easily and made it necessary to collaborate with our partner Nuventure. TerraConnect, pioneer in providing IoT water tech solutions and Nuventure, the global IoT solutions partner collaborated to provide an end-to-end IoT solution for our client. So, who is the real culprit who caused the early death of UV lamp? 

Terra M: An All-in-One Controller for Automation and Protection for UV System 

A primary inspection of the site helped us arrive at the following conclusions: 

• The polyethylene sheet of the wall of the open water basin for collecting rainwater was cracked, spilling groundwater into it. The open water basin was near a sub basin of the Mediterranean Sea, which carries water rich in limestone. This resulted in high Calcium content of ground water in the locality 

• Eventually, intermingling of the Calcium rich underground water with the rainwater resulted in the increased hardness of water in the open basin 

• When the Calcium-rich water met the heat of UV disinfection system, a reaction caused the limestone to fall out of water, resulting in scaling on the quartz sleeve of the lamp. 

• The scaling over the lamp resulted in inadequate disinfection of the water, which in turn disrupted the gut health of the cattle after the water consumption 

Based on the conclusions, we suggested the following solutions: 

• Installation of our cost-efficient water controller Terra M for real-time monitoring of parameters ensuring 24*7 protection of the UV system  

• Integrating Nuventure’s AI Predictive Maintenance algorithm for leakage detection in the basin and automatic prediction before the decomposition of the lamp: A pro-active maintenance approach 

Our client was impressed by our holistic approach. Instead of a shot in the dark, TerraConnect’s incremental strategy of approaching the challenge from all possible ways made a meaningful difference in the solution we offered. The following features of Terra M convinced the client to seek no other solution. 

• Automated and consistent disinfection with minimum manual intervention 

• AI-enabled Predictive Maintenance (PdM) for pro-active alerts in case of deviation from set parameters 

• Easy installation that saved their time, effort and money 

• Real-time monitoring of parameters for optimization of energy and water usage 

The AI algorithm gets activated when the Calcium and Magnesium content in the water rises above the set parameters, alerting the operators with an alarm and automatically activating the dosing pump to administer required dose of neutralizers into the water. This helps balance the hardness of water. Thus, the ability of water to form scales is reduced considerably, extending the lamp life to its standard rate. The alarms become a warning to our client to check for possible leakages in the water basin, the main reason for the hardness in the water. At TerraConnect, we leave no stone unturned and no loops open for new trouble. Our customized IoT solutions target precise challenges, promising desired results to our clients in no time. 

 Besides, Terra M with its extended AI capability, consistently monitors the pH, TDS and turbidity measures, promptly raising alarms in case of observed deviances. Therefore, the Predictive Maintenance potential protects the UV system from imminent failure, warning the operators to schedule maintenance and preventing unexpected downtime.  

That’s not all. The multilevel protection features of Terra M also manifests as:   

1. Overheating Protection: Automatic shut down for damage prevention  

2. Dry Run Prevention: Water flow check before UV lamp activation 

3. Power Surge/Dip Protection: Safeguard system during electrical fluctuation 

4. Lamp Failure Detection: Prompt alerts for lamp replacement 

Isn’t this called a complete solution?  

When our client asked for basic controllers to monitor parameters, we gave them a controller that can automate process, protect the UV system and above all, guarantee our client pocketful of savings:  

• Lamp life savings 

• Pro-active maintenance savings 

• Early replacement of lamp savings 

• Optimized energy resource savings 

And of course, boosted savings after a profitable dairy output from the farm.  

If you are searching for a reliable IoT partner for elevating your water-tech, connect with TerraConnect. Our comprehensive approach towards your challenges guarantees expert solutions at an accelerated pace. Choose TerraConnect and experience progressive water technology.