- The project, carried out in collaboration with Aqualia, makes the island a pioneer in the smart management of water
- The key to the remote meter reading system in Formentera lies in the uniformity of the meters
At Arson Metering, we have provided Aqualia with our remote meter reading system as part of the project that the company has rolled out on the Island, which was recently finished. Installing this remote meter reading system for water meters allows for smart management of the whole supply network. The project has been carried out in collaboration with Aqualia and the Council of the island, and places the island in the lead in terms of smart management of urban water, with all the benefits that brings: monitoring consumption, improvement of the service, energy savings and environmental sustainability.
The system includes almost 2,400 smart meters, which automatically take readings in real time, sending data every 8 seconds to the control centre located in Sant Francesc. By tracking abrupt surges and drops in consumption, the system can detect leaks, stoppages and breakdowns in the installations, avoiding water loss and the high costs associated with it. By managing alarms and analysing the data we can increase the efficiency of the network and work to continuously improve water efficiency. This is a significant achievement on an island that depends on just one source of water: the Es Ca Marí desalination plant.
This advancement is founded on our technology and our experience, which is focuse on the remote meter reading system AquaCity. For Amador Martínez, manager of Arson Metering, the project in Formentera is “very significant, because it is the first island to have a smart system for managing the water supply network. Furthermore, we can see the advantages of our smart metering system on all levels – from the management point of view but also consumption and sustainability.”
The remote meter reading system in Formentera
The main difference with out smart metering system is that it is a universal system, which allows it to read all of the standardised communication protocols for the water meters that are on the market, and it will be able to incorporate any new technologies and protocols that may arise in the future.
The AquaCity System consists of software and fixed network equipment that send the data in a reliable and robust way from the meter to the Data Control Centre. It is in operation 100% of the time and can obtain 24 readings per day from each meter, thanks to the smart technology that each piece of equipment has. On the island, a network of equipment has been rolled out that provide coverage for the island’s 9 water sectors.
The water service used the AquaCityGPS app to geolocate all of the meters, which has provided the necessary information to improve management and help to integrate the meters into the fixed smart network. The system generates a lot of information, which must be managed appropriately in order to optimise functioning and ensure that the network keeps working. For this, we have a Data Control Centre run by a qualified team of engineers who have supported Aqualia in rolling out the project.
From the control centre a daily audit is carried out of all of the installations, and all of the data received is analysed. In order to guarantee full functioning, we study aspects such as battery charge, the coverage status and the number of communication retries, among other things. From the information collected, we produce reports on water balance, and we manage the alerts on the equipment. By analysing the alerts and comparing the data, we can achieve optimal monitoring of the water network, which means that decisions can be made to increase supply or save water resources.
The project
The installation was done in different phases and was carried out over the course of 2018. Firstly, a geolocation was carried out on the meters, and then the fixed network of equipment was rolled out, using installation tools that allow all of the elements to interact with each other.
The project arose from the initial pilot carried out the previous year in Sant Ferran de Ses Roques, which had very good results. 17 pieces of AquaCity remote meter reading equipment were installed to monitor the consumption of water by 236 meters, and the water transported to the city’s distribution network. By analysing the data it was discovered that several customers had leaks in their houses, with up to 17 litres an hour being lost. We also analyse in real time the water being injected into the distribution pipes, and the water that has been consumed, in order to detect possible faults or leaks.