In the 1970s, it became urgent for companies to improve flow monitoring as Europe and the rest of the world were suffering from the explosion in oil and energy prices. Sensing the urgency for accurate energy measurement, Landis+Gyr introduced their very first ultrasonic meters 2WR2 which could be directly used for billing. Due to their accuracy, durability, low maintenance and robustness, these meters became the future of heat and cooling measurement. Today they are the foundation of our smart heat and water meters.
How much water has been consumed? Is there a leak or stagnation somewhere? Is maintenance necessary? No longer does this information need to be collected by technicians during scheduled on-site visits. Because unlike, traditional water meters, smart water meters communicate and transmit their data automatically, regularly – and in case of an event, immediately – to the water supplier or municipality. While various protocols are available the right choice depends on specific requirements.
Providing clean and safe drinking water day in, day out isn’t as easy as it sounds. To get the tap water you really want – clean, safe, and drinkable – there’s an entire chain of drinking water and wastewater treatment processes behind. And that has its price. Complex plants and pipe networks need to be built, operated, and maintained to provide a reliable municipal water supply. And the high investment, operational, and lifecycle costs are the reason why every drop is valuable. Treated water that is lost within the system and can’t be billed – non-revenue water (NRW) – is therefore an economical issue for water utilities and has to be minimized as fast as possible. The clock is ticking. And not just because of the financial loss but also because of potential ecological and humanitarian reasons.
Aging pipe networks, difficult temperature conditions, vibration caused by construction work – there are many causes for leaks in water infrastructure. Unfortunately, leaks often appear beneath the surface where nobody can see them until it’s too late. Billions of drops, millions of cubic meters of drinking water are lost by many water utilities due to leaks every year. How can you minimize these losses? Not just to prevent the lost revenue, but also to conserve the vital resource, to keep drinking water clean, and to prevent buildings and infrastructure from dangerous undercutting. There’s a smart way for water utilities to ensure constant leakage detection with minimal effort. And we’re going to explore it.
Every year, millions of households wait for the manual readings of their water meters, having to stay home or organize friends or neighbors to be present so that the reading can take place. Additionally, for water utilities the annual reading is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and causes high expenses. In the 21st century, with everything going digital or even virtual - from planning and simulation to diagnostics, from offerings-as-a-service to digital twins, and from small IIoT components to AGVs, robotics, and e-mobility, the measurement of water is still largely done in an analogue manner. Why not use the benefits of digitalization to make readings easier, more comfortable, more reliable, and more efficient for all parties involved?
Colorless, odorless, indispensable for life. Arguably the most important, resource on the planet, water is under constant threat from climate change and leaky infrastructure. Ironically, while sea levels are rising on one hand, water shortages are becoming increasingly common on the other.
