Water filtration company BRITA Professional Filter unveils the PURITY C iQ, its first intelligent filtration system intended to deliver the perfect cup quality, every time.
In 1966, BRITA was one of the first companies to bring water filtration technology to the global market. Since then, the German company has been a market leader in this field, says BRITA Group Vice President of Strategic Marketing Thomas Hörning.
“Our goal is to continuously optimise filter systems in order to generate added value for our customers. Our innovations in filtration technology enable our customers to make their operations more efficient and improve profitability for their business,” says Hörning.
“With PURITY C iQ, we launched the first data-driven, smart filter system on the market.”
PURITY C iQ is much more than a filter cartridge. It’s an intelligent system that combines a filter, a filter head, and a cloud-based portal to deliver accurate data on key parameters.
“Developed in collaboration with customers, PURITY C iQ is a plug-and-play system that intelligently simplifies installation and helps you to plan maintenance in advance. Data is accessible and retrievable at any time. The result is that coffee is always enjoyed at the highest level,” Hörning says.
Seven years in the making, PURITY C iQ uses data to give full transparency on all the information needed to make smarter decisions and benefit from enhanced preventative machine maintenance.
“By monitoring the performance and condition of water filters, the system helps businesses reduce the risk of energy-sapping limescale build-up, efficiently plan service visits, and be crystal clear on costs,” says Hörning.
“It also helps ensure optimal water quality by monitoring incoming flow. This includes how hard the local water is, when water filters and cartridges need changing, and how much water has been used each week.”
The installation of the PURITY C iQ is simple thanks to radio frequency identification (RFID) recognition and plug-and-play. The operating concept is user-friendly throughout with audible and visual feedback and immediate portal connection, making the PURITY C iQ filter system intuitive and dependable.
“We wanted to develop a new milestone and have used our many years of experience to unite this intelligent filter system and the web-based iQ Portal into a single, unified system,” says Hörning.
The plug-and-play connection can be used without integration into existing networks, and the connection to the cloud is fully independent. All that’s required is registration of the filter head, with no additional costs for the data connection.
The PURITY C iQ filter head is in two-way communication with the filter cartridge.
“Even during installation, the system recognises the cartridge type and size using RFID,” Hörning says.
Hörning says information is precise and filter settings can be automatically adjusted.
“This means machine downtime due to unplanned repairs is kept to a minimum, energy consumption is reduced, and on-site service visits are easier to plan,” he says.
“Working in partnership with customers, BRITA Professional has drawn on its industry heritage to deliver the biggest innovation in water filtration since Heinz Hankammer launched the first BRITA water filter jug in 1970.”
Hörning says the PURITY C iQ is the first smart filter system that continuously monitors water properties using algorithms and automatically reacts to any changes in the prevailing water quality.
“With this filtration system, you can achieve the goal of maintaining a consistent, premium beverage quality for you and your customers,” he says.
The smart filter head provides guidance on installation and filter flushing, while the intelligent sensor technology detects and reacts to changes in the water. An integrated flow meter monitors water consumption and filter lifespan, while visual information can be viewed on the BRITA iQ Portal at any time.
“The unbeatable advantage of a fully networked and digitally integrated system is that it provides a new level of efficiency for companies that have many devices in use. Every day, each filter head transmits the current operating data to the central, cloud-based BRITA iQ Portal. This dynamic wireless reporting produces overviews of the remaining service life of all filters, across all locations. You can now easily coordinate your maintenance schedule,” Hörning says.
“Thanks to the intelligent technology, the relevant operating parameters of all installed filter cartridges are available to you in the BRITA iQ Portal. These values include the current filter capacity, the remaining lifetime of the filter, the carbonate hardness level of the raw water and the water consumption itself.”
The BRITA iQ Portal also provides an overview of all filter heads in a customer-specific user group. Service technicians can also be given different access levels in the iQ Portal’s interface – either a general overview for the big picture or a more detailed view of the system.
“As an international market leader and reliable partner in the HORECA industry, we take coffee seriously. This innovation from BRITA is something that’s been needed in the coffee world for a long time and will revolutionise the way coffee professionals will manage machine and filter maintenance,” says Hörning.
Hörning says scale within coffee machines has always been a challenge. He says the PURITY C iQ will help manage the situation much more closely using the BRITA iQ Portal.
“The iQ is easy to install, maintain and exchange when required,” says Hörning.
“We believe there’s a revolution about to sweep the sector, and we want coffee professionals to be at the heart of it.”
For more information, visit www.brita.net
This article was first published in the January/February 2024 edition of Global Coffee Report. Read more HERE.
