How Teneo, KPN, and Datacake Saved Over €500,000 by Reducing Tree Mortality to Less Than 1%
The Teneo Soil Moisture Sensor, combined with the automation capabilities and KPN’s robust LoRaWAN network, has empowered Dutch municipalities to tackle critical tree care challenges. This innovative solution has delivered outstanding results, helping reduce tree mortality rates from 5–10% to below 1%, while optimizing resources and fostering sustainable urban growth.
About Teneo IoT
Teneo IoT BV, founded in March 2016 by Inou Heideman and Erik Prange, is on a mission to make IoT not just smarter, but more accessible and enjoyable. With a focus on creating low-threshold IoT solutions, Teneo serves a diverse range of markets, including smart cities, industry, logistics, and homes. Their innovative solutions, powered by energy-efficient LoRaWAN sensors, are designed to deliver actionable insights across applications like waste management, lighting automation, water quality monitoring, and even smart rollators.
This commitment to innovation is backed by a team of 10 young professionals who are deeply engaged in R&D, collaborating with universities and colleges to push the boundaries of IoT technology.
This cooperation between Teneo and Datacake is a teamwork effort that has been developing over several years, with various IoT technology implementations. One example is the Safe Harbour Project, developed in collaboration with Datacake and Weslink. This project transformed the camping experience by allowing users to reserve their pitches in advance and check real-time availability. With Datacake’s Open API and backend, the project revolutionized how campsites manage reservations and enhance customer convenience
The Solution: Smart Sensors, Automation, and KPN’s Nationwide LoRaWAN Network
The Teneo soil moisture sensor, combined with Datacake’s platform and KPN’s reliable LoRaWAN network, offers an innovative solution to urban tree care challenges. These sensors monitor soil moisture and temperature in real-time, equipping municipalities with the data needed to optimize watering schedules and prevent overwatering.
KPN provides nationwide LoRaWAN coverage across the Netherlands, ensuring consistent and reliable data transmission from sensors, even in rural or hard-to-reach areas. Datacake enhances this integration with its user-friendly platform, enabling easy device management, data visualization, and automation through tools like the Rule Engine.
For instance, if soil moisture drops below 10%, the Rule Engine generates alerts sent directly to maintenance teams or integrated into navigation software for efficient route planning. By integrating LoRaWAN devices with the KPN network and Datacake, municipalities can seamlessly scale their IoT deployments, ensuring proactive, data-driven tree care and resource optimization.
Results: Reducing Tree Mortality and Saving Resources with IoT
The collaboration between Teneo IoT, Datacake, and KPN has delivered impressive results, showcasing the tangible impact of smart technology on urban tree care:
● Cost-Savings and Reduce Tree Mortality : In past projects involving 1,200 young trees, the mortality rate was successfully reduced from 10% to 1%. This significant improvement meant 9% fewer trees required replacement, saving a total of 108 trees.
Considering that the average cost to plant a street tree is €4,700, this reduction in tree loss resulted in a staggering €507,600 saved. These savings encompass not just the cost of planting new trees but also the labor, equipment, and resources required for replacement.
● Water Savings: This kind of system demonstrated its ability to save approximately 350,000 liters of water by utilizing real-time soil moisture data to avoid unnecessary watering. This significant water conservation also eased the workload for maintenance teams, reducing labor and truck operations, which in turn lowered costs and diesel consumption. Notably, in some cases, trees required no additional watering throughout the year, as the soil remained adequately hydrated from rainfall.
● Scalability: Over 100 municipalities in the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden are now using the solution, proving its effectiveness and scalability.
Why Datacake and KPN?
The success of Teneo’s soil moisture sensor deployments is built on Datacake’s intuitive IoT platform and KPN’s reliable LoRaWAN network. Datacake’s Rule Engine, reporting tools, and API integrations make automation and monitoring straightforward, while KPN’s network ensures uninterrupted data flow across urban and rural areas.
As Inou Heideman, CEO of Teneo IoT, puts it:
Looking Ahead
Teneo IoT and Datacake continue to innovate, exploring new applications and expanding their impact in the Netherlands and beyond. With IoT technology paving the way for smarter, greener cities, their collaboration is a testament to the power of automation and actionable data.
Project Partners