TOPIC Metering Solutions Director - ESI-Africa.com · •Automatic Meter Reading ... (“up to xx m...

TOPIC

• Leonardus Basson

• Metering Solutions Director

• Elster Kent Metering

• South Africa

Honeywell Confidential - © 2016 by Honeywell International Inc. All rights reserved.

No reproduction or use of this material may be made without Honeywell’s prior written permission.

“To measure is to know” – Lord Kelvin

“every drop” of water that is sourced needs to be accounted for

throughout the supply chain

Trends:

• Reliable and Accurate Meters – good revenue generation

meters

• Solutions that add value and provide acceptable ROI:

• Water Management Devices (WMD) – FBW, shut-off valve

• Prepayment (STS) – similar system to electricity PP

• Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) – walk-by / drive-by for

value, Cellular AMR

• Meter Data Management (MDM) – Smart Metering, Cloud-

based, Internet of Things (IoT), Mobile Applications – Billing,

Leak Detection, Logging

Water meters are the cash registers

for water suppliers



Challenges faced with new technologies and solutions:

• Source of energy required by many solutions – LCD display,

radio, Battery life expectancy (“up to x years”) – also

depends on type and frequency of energy requirement

• Communications technology challenges

• Wi-Fi, internet / ANSI, IEC protocols / fixed wireless,

mesh network

• Cost effectiveness – Upfront and monthly costs,

operational and maintenance costs

• Reliability

• Communication Distances (“up to xx m line of sight”)

• Software systems

• “Big Data” – Too much data / Data management and

analysis

• Health and safety concerns

• Lack of proven savings



© 2011 by Elster. All rights reserved.

Reliable and Accurate Water Meters provide:

• Good revenue generation,

• Accurate source data for solutions and

• Consumer confidence and trust

Solutions should:

• Add value (operations, provide business intelligence),

• Be Cost effective (owning and operating) / acceptable ROI and

• Improve customer satisfaction



Water Losses

Authorized Consumption

Real Losses

Apparent Losses

Unbilled Authorized

Consumption

Billed Authorized

Consumption

Non- Revenue

Water

Revenue Water

Leakage & Overflows at Storage

Billed Unmetered Consumption

Billed Metered Consumption

Billed Water Exported

Leakage on Service Lines

Leakage on Mains

Customer Metering Inaccuracies

Unauthorized Consumption

Unbilled Unmetered Consumption

Unbilled Metered Consumption

Systematic Data Handling Error

Source:

IWA Water Balance

36.8% (1.58bn m3)

R 9,5bn

±5% of Consumption

±20% R 5,2bn



Poor performance of cheaper products

“Price is what you pay,

Value is what you

get” Warren Buffett

Actual Reading p.m. (kl) -10.0% 9.0 13.5 18.0 27.0 36.0 45.0

Lost Revenue p.a. (R) -10.0% R 81.60 R 199.26 R 384.72 R 764.28 R 1 090.56 R 1 684.80

10.0 15.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0

Actual Usage per Month (kl)

Meter Error

* JW Residential Water Tariffs 2015/2016



• Most local domestic meters are mechanical devices

• Performance (accuracy) is affected by the volume and

quality of water passing through the meter, As well as

the propensity of the meter to work-away suspended

solids (quality of the meter)



• Meters and stands not

properly marked

• Billing errors

• Estimations

• Increased customer queries



Mechanical

‘dumb’ meter

Electronic

meter with /

w/o

integrated

AMR

Mechanical

with

external

smart

modules

Smart

hybrid meter

with

integrated

smart




• No clear definition of a “smart” meter, term “Smart” loosely used

to “upsell” meters – media articles




Simplified Definition:

A Smart Meter is a measuring device that is capable

of communicating data to a remote interface at

regular intervals

In it’s basic form, smart metering is Automatic Meter

Reading (AMR)



Hybrid meters are a combination of mechanical and

electronic meters:

• One mechanical moving part as the flow / volume

sensor, combined with electronic signal transmission

and counters

• With only one moving part, accuracy is improved

while wear and tear is minimised

• Intelligent LCD counters (alarms, etc.)



Electronic meters have no moving parts and as a result can cope with suspended solids and do not measure air

In theory measuring capability and accuracy remains constant for the life of the battery




Benefits to Utility:

• Read meter remotely / no access required to properties

• Improve meter reading performance – efficiency and accuracy

• Tamper detection

• Proactive leak detection

• Reduced water pumping through reduced water leakage

Benefits to Consumer:

• Provide greater information to customers in relation to their

consumption, which enables them to make informed, proactive

decisions about their water usage

• Provide information to customers that allow them to identify

household leakages

• Support more frequent and accurate customer billing



R 0

R 500

R 1 000

R 1 500

R 2 000

R 2 500

Electronic Meter + Probe + Comms Basic Meter

Meter Probe Comms AG box

Price factor of meters 6-7 times

15mm Cost Comparison

….. but not great Cost-Benefit ratio

Meter

Meter



A Reliable and Accurate water meter is the

source which enables:

• Informed and optimised data

management analysis and decisions

e.g. water balance, leak detection, water

losses, non-revenue water,

• Accurate billing and enhanced

revenue collection

A Reliable and Accurate mechanical meter

provides the best value in water metering


Leonardus Basson

+27-11-470-4900 [email protected]

www.elster.com

mailto:[email protected]

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