Kenya’s Davis and Shirtliff, a supplier of water related and alternative energy equipment and Lorentz, a solar pump manufacturer have together launched a new application that can help borehole owners remotely manage their boreholes by phone.According to Alec Davis, CEO Davis and Shirtliff Group, “Customers are now able to track the pump performance and get a technician on site. Whenever they note an abnormal trend in their boreholes output, unlike before, when the biggest problem with boreholes has been that when they malfunction, a technician has to check all parts.”
The PS controller application can store data for up to 2 years, keeps records of the pumping activities showing how much water is being produced, at what rate, the amount of power being used, and the length of each pumping session. Once a pump is switched on, the app sends data on voltage and pump rotation via GPS to the Lorentz database, where it is stored. It is then sent to the clients’ laptop or phone.
Costing just cost of Sh60,000 with a monthly service charge of Sh2,600 shillings, the PS controller application also enables one to remotely switch off a borehole thus enabling control of the amount of time a borehole is functioning.
“We developed the technology for preventive maintenance for clients and also to give customers more control of their pumps,” said Kai Reinecke Channel Manager at Lorentz. The remote pump controller replaces site technicians whenever there is an abnormal output, or a pump had broken down.
Davis and Shirtliff recently partnered with World Vision on a Sh3 million solar powered borehole pumping installation providing water to 2000 people and 20,000 livestock with 80m3 of water per day in Wajir, Northern Kenya.