Flowerbed sensors cut watering time and save £32k

Smart sensors have saved £32,000 by reducing how much city centre flowerbeds needed watering through the summer months.

The Smart City programme in Wrexham has also seen smart benches installed with free USB and wireless phone charging points powered by solar power.

The council has also installed sensors in public bins that plot waste collection routes based on how full they are to keep areas cleaner.

The flower bed sensors saved about £32,000, 1,000 litres of water and three hours in time each day over seven months, according to a council report.

Other real-time flood sensors have also been installed to alert officials when water levels rise in a culvert behind Wrexham's St Giles parish church, improving response times if action is needed.

The council is now exploring the possibility of installing other flood monitoring sensors at problem areas including Bangor-on Dee, Marchwiel, Acton, Gresford and Rhostyllen.

"The pilots within the council demonstrate the potential for a transformation in how its services operate," said the report.

"The technologies deployed across the county borough and the evidence of efficiencies and cost savings made by using data-led approaches will hopefully provide a better service in the future."

The programme has been financed by a £72,000 Welsh government grant and £30,000 in technology gifted to the authority.