Smart metering
The UK and Irish water industry is embarking on a significant transition to smarter metering by installing millions of meters
The installation of more capable meters in providing more frequent readings in near real time is a growing trend, and while this should lead to benefits for water management and reducing losses, it raises many new challenges.
- How do you select the right mix of communication technologies for different installation conditions? Many meters are installed underground, which poses challenges for network solutions, including NBIoT and LoraWan.
- With the number of individual meter readings increasing by orders of magnitude, how do you extract useful information?
- What is a leak? Where should you set your alarm thresholds for continuous flow or reverse flow to reduce losses but not unnecessarily alarm customers or create an unmanageable workload?
- How can you be sure that manufacturers’ claims regarding battery life are realistic?
Using smart metering effectively has huge potential for improving water management and meeting regulatory targets to reduce per capita consumption and water losses. However, these benefits will only be realised if the right technology is selected and deployed appropriately. For example, with many meters installed underground, network connectivity can be a big issue and without good connectivity, there will be data losses.
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General enquiries
Battery life is crucial to the cost-benefit case
Most manufacturers quote a minimum of ten years’ battery life, but the achievable life from a small battery can depend on many variables. It is important that battery life can be evaluated under real operating conditions. Shorter than expected battery life will lead to early replacement and significantly higher costs.
Considering how the data will be used is essential from the outset in any smart metering programme
How the information will be used can drive decisions on the frequency with which it is collected and transmitted, which in turn will impact battery life. It also affects how you then manage the incoming data to best effect.
Recent project involvement
- Our leading CP693 collaborative research project has scoped out a standardised test programme for smart meter connectivity, looking at the challenges of UK and Irish installation scenarios.
- Our specialist engineers are working to support smart meter deployment in various parts of the world, including South Africa and the Middle East.
- We have carried out testing on various systems to evaluate aspects of performance including range, signal characteristics and the impact of environmental conditions, including submersion.
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