How Smart Metering Cuts Water Use by 30% in Húsafell, Iceland

Mainlink and Axioma Metering’s solution was implemented in 233 single-family households to enable advanced water management for an Icelandic utility.

Location: Húsafell, Iceland
Client: Utility, Ferdathjonustan Húsafelli ehf. 
Scope: 233 single-family households 
Project Duration: One year 

Húsafell, located in West Iceland, is a community where sustainability has been central for decades. Known as the gateway to Iceland’s Highlands, it sits near natural landmarks such as Langjökull glacier, Hraunfossar waterfalls, and the man-made “Into the Glacier” ice cave. The area has a long tradition of renewable energy – a small hydro generator was built in 1948 and geothermal heating followed in 1986. Today, Húsafell is fully self-sufficient, powered by 100% renewable energy. 

The Problem 

Until recently, Húsafell’s district heating and water distribution system was billed on a flat fee basis with no individual metering. This created several challenges: 

  • Excessive water use: Residents had little incentive to conserve water resources, driving up overall consumption as a result. 
  • System overload: High usage caused frequent pressure drops across the network. 
  • Growing investment needs: Over consumption pushed the utility toward costly infrastructure upgrades. 

The Solution 

  • 233 ultrasonic water meters installed in single-family households 
  • 1 Kerlink outdoor LoRa® gateway for full coverage across the community 
  • Mainhive Data Management Platform enabling billing exports, leak and burst detection, and network monitoring 
  • Resident Mobile App providing daily usage visibility, consumption comparisons, and instant alerts 

Why Mainlink 

Ferdathjonustan Húsafelli ehf. chose Mainlink through its strategic partnership with Axioma Metering. The decision was based on the ability to deliver a one-stop solution: high-accuracy ultrasonic meters, a reliable LoRa® communication network, and Mainhive data management platform. 

‘The Axioma-Mainlink smart metering solution was a perfect fit for our distribution system providing excellent user interface for monitoring and billing with low implementation cost compared to other solutions’, – Arnar Bergthorsson, IT and Digitalization Specialist.