We are thrilled to announce that Ali Mouslmani has joined WM Systems as our new partner in the United Arab Emirates. With the opening of our new office in Dubai, Ali’s addition to the team marks a significant milestone in our expansion into the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META) region.
Ali is a seasoned industry veteran, whose extensive experience in the Smart Energy sector is a valuable asset to our team. His previous role at Honeywell, where he was responsible for the Smart Energy business, aligns perfectly with our focus at WM Systems. We specialize in Internet of Things (IoT) devices covering all industrial and utility segments, particularly cellular modems and gateways for for electricity, water, and gas meters.
In this era of technological transition, as mobile operators phase out legacy 2G and 3G networks, our state-of-the-art cellular modems emerge as a way for utility companies to protect their investment. These meter agnostic modems are designed to retrofit existing electricity meters. This retrofit approach allows for an upgrade to the latest network technologies and Cyber security standard without the need for costly replacement of existing smart meters.
Our cellular modems thus offer a cost-effective, efficient, and seamless transition to newer, more advanced communication infrastructures, ensuring that utility services remain uninterrupted and future-proof.
With Ali’s expertise, we are poised to make significant strides in the META region. His deep understanding of the market dynamics and his proven track record in the Smart Energy business will be instrumental in our efforts to deliver innovative and efficient IoT solutions.
We are confident that Ali’s leadership and experience will drive our growth in these new markets, enhancing our ability to meet the evolving needs of our customers. Please join us in welcoming Ali Mouslmani to the WM Systems family. We look forward to a future of shared success and innovation.
Welcome aboard, Ali!
In the rapidly evolving world of industrial automation and IoT, the demand for compact, versatile, and efficient communication solutions is at an all-time high. Enter the Industrial DIN Rail Router – a game-changer in the realm of modular connectivity.
At the heart of the Industrial DIN Rail Router‘s design is its unmatched modularity. Unlike traditional products confined to limited functions, this router is a standard 1-module wide, fitting perfectly in modular product housings. This compact design doesn’t sacrifice functionality; it encapsulates complex data concentrator features and supports LTE / Cat.M Internet modules within its small frame.
Flexibility is key in industrial environments, and the Industrial DIN Rail Router excels in this regard. It supports an array of user interfaces like RS232, RS485/Modbus, Ethernet, and Digital Input. This versatility allows for multiple port usage, ensuring it meets diverse industrial requirements. Moreover, its design accommodates an infinite number of routers side-by-side on a single DIN rail, ensuring space efficiency without compromising cable and antenna management or LED readability.
Where most companies can only fit a simple circuit breaker, modem, or basic PLC device in a standard 1M size, the Industrial DIN Rail Router packs a potent combination of complex functionalities into its compact design. This feat is particularly impressive considering its data concentration capabilities and inclusion of an LTE/Cat.M internet module.
The router is not just about its compact size and modularity. It boasts industry-standard interfaces and protocols, making it suitable for a range of applications like industrial automation and smart metering. Features like Ethernet, RS232, RS485 ports, and a DI interface, combined with an IP31 plastic modular casing, make it a robust choice for industrial environments.
Our Industry 4.0 standard solution is operating on the Linux-based OpenWRT® system and compatible with the Device Manager® platform, the router ensures secure and efficient connectivity.
It supports usual network protocols and more, offering secure protocol connection such as TLS v1.2, while the latest secure access options as HTTPS, SFTP SNTP, SSH, SSL are there for you.
The secure TLS option during the router and Device Manager® communication adds an extra layer of security.
Transparent data link and simultaneous data collection from various presented ports are implemented due to the data concentration feature, furthermore the remote configuration and remote firmware updates are also accessible.
This router is not just a product; it’s a solution. Its applications range from industrial automation, smart grid, and utility companies to smart metering, addressing the needs of various sectors with its innovative design and advanced features.
The Industrial DIN Rail Router stands out in the market with its unique blend of modularity, compact design, and comprehensive functionalities.
It’s more than just a router; it’s a testament to innovative engineering, designed to meet the demands of modern industrial environments.
The fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0, is redefining the landscape of industrial operations. Key to this transformation is the integration of smart IoT solutions. For industrial integrators and service providers, adopting these technologies is no longer a luxury but a necessity for staying competitive. This article explores the benefits of a particularly innovative product, the Industrial DIN Rail Router: a compact, standard, smart IoT device designed for Industry 4.0.
Industry 4.0’s success is heavily reliant on robust, adaptable connectivity solutions and smart data management. In this context, smart IoT devices play a pivotal role, and their effectiveness largely depends on their internet connectivity capabilities. Smart IoT devices, equipped with advanced internet modules, are central to this.
Our Industrial DIN Rail Router stands out in this area with its advanced connectivity options:
These connectivity options position our smart IoT device – the Industrial DIN Rail Router – as a versatile and future-proof solution for Industry 4.0 applications.
Whether it’s for high-density industrial environments, remote applications, or areas with challenging network conditions, this device ensures reliable, efficient, and cost-effective operations.
One of the primary considerations for industrial integrators is cost. The Industrial DIN Rail Router we’re discussing strikes the perfect balance between affordability and functionality. Its compact design reduces space requirements and installation costs, while its standardization simplifies integration with existing systems, reducing the need for costly customization.
Our Industrial DIN Rail Router’s compact size belies its powerful capabilities. Designed to fit into standard configurations, it eases the process of upgrading existing systems or deploying new ones. This standardization is crucial for integrators looking to implement scalable and flexible solutions that can adapt to evolving industrial needs.
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Seamless integration is key in Industry 4.0 environments. This device supports various interfaces and communication protocols, making it compatible with a wide range of industrial equipment. Its user-friendly operation means minimal training is required, translating into reduced operational costs.
As Industry 4.0 continues to evolve, so too must the technologies that support it. This Industrial DIN Rail Router is designed with future-readiness in mind, capable of accommodating updates and new functionalities as the industrial landscape changes.
The Industrial DIN Rail Router is versatile, suitable for applications like industrial automation, smart metering, and smart grid management. For integrators and operators, this translates to a single solution that addresses multiple needs, streamlining operations and reducing the need for multiple specialized devices.
For industrial integrators and service providers, embracing Industry 4.0 is essential. The smart IoT device, the Industrial DIN Rail Router presented here is a testament to how innovative solutions can drive efficiency, reduce costs, and prepare for the future. It’s more than just a product; it’s a pathway to thriving in the new industrial era.
Solar plants and farms are complex systems with a variety of equipment that needs to be monitored and controlled. This can be a challenge, especially for large plants with multiple arrays and components.
A universal control box can help to simplify and streamline the monitoring and control of solar plants/farms. It can also help to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
Here are some specific ways that a universal control box can be used in solar plants/farms:
Here is a specific example of how a universal control box could be used in a solar plant/farm:
A solar plant has multiple arrays of solar panels. Each array is connected to an inverter. The inverters are connected to a battery bank. The battery bank is connected to a grid-tie inverter. The grid-tie inverter connects the solar plant to the electrical grid.
A universal control box could be used to remotely monitor all of the equipment in the solar plant, including the solar panels, inverters, batteries, and grid-tie inverter. The universal control box could also be used to control devices connected to the relays, such as pumps, fans, and lights.
For example, the universal control box could be used to turn on pumps and fans during the hottest part of the day to keep the solar panels cool. This could help to improve the performance of the solar panels and extend their lifespan.
The universal control box could also be used to automatically control the grid-tie inverter. For example, the universal control box could be programmed to sell excess electricity back to the grid when electricity prices are high.
Here are some of the benefits of using a universal control box in solar plants/farms:
Overall, a universal control box is a versatile and cost-effective solution for improving the efficiency, safety, and profitability of solar plants/farms.
A universal control box is a valuable tool for improving the efficiency, safety, and profitability of solar plants/farms. It can help to reduce costs, improve reliability, and increase flexibility.
If you are considering installing a universal control box in your solar plant/farm, be sure to choose a product that is designed for solar applications and that is compatible with your existing equipment.
Industrial settings are replete with equipment that demands efficient connectivity solutions. With the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) and the necessity of interconnected devices in various sectors, it has never been more crucial to have a reliable and compact solution.
Enter the DIN-rail mountable industrial router – a small but powerful piece of technology. This blog post delves into the importance of such routers and why they are becoming the choice for various industrial applications.
Size matters, especially when it comes to industrial equipment. Traditional routers, while effective, may not always be suited for environments that have space constraints. Here’s why small industrial routers, like our DIN-rail mountable version, are crucial:
DIN-Rail mounting has been a standard in control cabinets for years. This system offers a secure and standardized method to attach various devices inside control cabinets. Here are the advantages:
Another pivotal factor to consider in industrial routers is their power supply. Since these routers can be used in a variety of settings, including control cabinets, substations, and vehicles, they must support a DC power supply. Here’s why:
Our DIN-rail mountable industrial router stands as a testament to how technological innovations can be compact yet robust. Whether you’re dealing with a vast equipment rack or a minuscule space, this router ensures organized and efficient Ethernet cable connectivity.
In an era where industrial efficiency and reliability are paramount, opting for a router designed specifically for such demands is a wise investment. So, when considering network solutions for your industrial setting, remember the advantages that a compact DIN-rail router brings to the table. Make the switch and embrace a solution that is tailored for the modern industrial world.
DIN-rail mountable industrial routers are an essential component of many industrial applications. They provide a reliable and secure way to connect industrial devices to the internet, enabling remote monitoring and control, data collection, and other critical tasks.
Small industrial DIN-rail routers are especially important for applications where space is limited. These routers are typically much smaller than traditional industrial routers, making them ideal for installation in control cabinets, substations, and other tight spaces.
Here are some of the benefits of using small industrial DIN-rail routers:
DIN-rail mounting is a standard mounting method for industrial equipment. DIN rails are metal rails that are typically mounted inside control cabinets and other industrial enclosures. DIN-rail mountable equipment is designed to be easily attached to DIN rails, making installation and removal quick and easy.
Standard DIN-rail mounting is the right choice for many applications because it offers a number of advantages, including:
DC (direct current) power supplies are commonly used in industrial applications. DC power supplies are reliable and efficient, and they can be used to power a wide range of industrial equipment, including industrial routers.
Industrial routers should generally support a DC power supply for the following reasons:
Small DIN-rail routers can help you organize your industrial equipment in a number of ways. For example, you can use DIN-rail routers to:
Small industrial DIN-rail routers are an essential component of many industrial applications. They offer a number of advantages, including compact size, easy installation, reliability, security, and support for DC power supplies.
If you are looking for a reliable and efficient way to connect your industrial devices to the internet, a small industrial DIN-rail router is a great option.
The modern smart grid is a vast and complex system that is essential to our modern way of life. It delivers electricity to our homes, businesses, and industries, and it is responsible for keeping the lights on and the power flowing.
One of the key components of the smart grid is the industrial cellular relay switch. These devices allow operators to connect any equipment to the relays of the switch and control them via the cellular connection. This is extremely important for the modern smart grid, as it allows for remote monitoring and control of critical infrastructure.
There are many different industrial applications for cellular-based smart relay switches. Some of the most common applications include:
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These are just a few of the many industrial applications for cellular-based smart relay switches. As the smart grid continues to evolve, these devices will become even more important for ensuring the reliable and efficient operation of our critical infrastructure.
In addition to the applications mentioned above, cellular-based smart relay switches can also be used in a variety of other industrial settings, such as:
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The versatility of cellular-based smart relay switches makes them an essential tool for a wide range of industrial applications. As the smart grid continues to evolve, these devices will become even more important for ensuring the reliable and efficient operation of our critical infrastructure.
In today’s challenging environment, with growing energy consumption, the need for a more efficient and reliable power grid is more important than ever. Cellular-based smart relay switches can play a key role in meeting this need. By allowing for remote monitoring and control of critical infrastructure, these devices can help to improve the efficiency of the power grid, reduce power outages, and increase the reliability of the power supply.
In addition to the environmental benefits, cellular-based smart relay switches can also provide a number of economic benefits. By improving the efficiency of the power grid, these devices can help to reduce energy costs. They can also help to improve the reliability of the power supply, which can reduce the need for costly repairs and maintenance.
Here are some additional thoughts on the importance of industrial cellular relay switches in the modern smart grid:
Overall, industrial cellular relay switches are a valuable tool that can help to make the modern smart grid more secure, resilient, and sustainable.
In today’s dynamic world, understanding the nuances of electrical energy management has never been more crucial. A distinct feature of electrical energy is that it cannot be efficiently stored in vast quantities. As a result, it has to be produced, transferred, and consumed almost instantaneously. The electric grid’s vitality hinges on this intricate dance of supply and demand.
Imagine a scenario where the load on an electric system is inching closer to its maximum generation capacity. At this crucial juncture, grid managers are faced with two options: either source additional energy or mitigate the load — this is where the concept of load management enters the fray. Without effective load management, the grid is vulnerable to instability, potentially culminating in widespread blackouts.
Interestingly, even utilities that primarily purchase power instead of producing it have discovered the value of having an effective load control system in place. Why? The high costs levied by their energy providers during peak consumption times can be substantially slashed. In many instances, the savings realized are so significant that the load control system can become cost-neutral within just a season.
At present, the utilities sector is grappling with mounting pressures. From replacing outdated infrastructure and upholding consumer trust to catering to the surging power demand and navigating the labyrinth of regulations and environmental considerations, the challenges are manifold.
Historically, a line was drawn between direct and indirect load control. The former entailed the utility’s remote management of non-essential loads during peak times. These initiatives, often voluntary, offered consumers financial benefits for participation. After World War II, especially in Europe, such remote control techniques saw rapid development, often serving as a means of energy rationing.
Several loads, including water heaters, HVAC systems, thermal storage, irrigation pumps, and swimming pool filters, became popular choices for these programs. Their appeal lay in the minimal perceptible impact on consumers, if managed prudently. Some utilities even paralleled the efficacy of load control with spinning reserve, emphasizing its criticality.
The 1973 oil embargo, followed by the US Public Utility Regulatory Practices Act of 1978, steered utilities toward time-differentiated rates, commonly known as peak load pricing. Here, consumers were nudged to adjust consumption patterns, aligning with cheaper off-peak periods, termed as indirect load control.
Fast forward to the present, utilities are increasingly turning to Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) systems, versatile enough to support intricate rate designs. This push toward AMI has propelled utilities to re-evaluate their strategies, pondering whether both advanced metering and load control should be intertwined, leveraging similar technologies. AMI’s dual-directional communication ability, facilitating data exchange from and to meter end points, further underscores its potential.
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As utilities strategize to optimize their Capital Expenditure (CAPEX), retrofit solutions are emerging as a beacon of hope. Almost all existing electricity meters are compatible with retrofit modems.
In conclusion, as the global demand for energy continues its upward trajectory, the essence of load management in modern electric grids cannot be overstated. With the confluence of technology and strategy, there lies immense potential for utilities to redefine the future of energy consumption and distribution.
The global energy landscape is undergoing a significant transformation as the world moves towards cleaner, sustainable, and renewable energy sources. This change is necessitating innovative technological solutions to manage and control energy distribution, ensuring stability, efficiency, and sustainability. One such innovation is the introduction of remote control energy meters, specifically through our revolutionary Relay Box device.
The shift towards renewable energy plants, electric vehicles, and solar energy is no longer a futuristic concept. It’s happening now. While the transformation is vital for reducing carbon footprints and mitigating climate change, it also brings substantial challenges in managing energy supply and demand.
Traditionally, energy meters were simple devices that measured power consumption, forming the basis for electricity billing. However, today’s energy meters have taken on much greater responsibilities. Beyond just power measurement, they are now essential tools for power quality monitoring, control, scheduling analysis, and security monitoring.
The integration of variable renewable energy sources such as wind and solar creates a serious imbalance between demand and supply. It can result in sudden spikes or drops in power availability. Utilities must navigate this complex environment, ensuring that the demand matches the supply to prevent blackouts or excess energy wastage. The solution? Load control.
Load control allows utilities to remotely switch off appliances or devices in homes and businesses, aligning demand with available supply. Here’s how it benefits both utilities and consumers:
Many new smart meters are equipped with advanced features like bi-directional communication, multi-tariffs, and crucially, load control functions. These functions include remote control, power control, time control, fee control, and power preservation.
But what if you don’t want to invest in entirely new metering infrastructure? That’s where our Relay Box device comes into play. As a compact and cost-effective retrofit solution, the Relay Box connects to existing electricity meters via the RS485 port.
It operates on unidirectional DLMS/COSEM “push” commands and messages from the connected electricity meter, providing a simple and affordable way to upgrade your existing system. With its four relays, it is a significant advancement in intelligent management and control of power supply.
The transition to renewable energy is both a necessity and a challenge. The increasing complexity of energy systems necessitates intelligent control solutions that balance demand with ever-fluctuating supply.
Our Relay Box provides a timely solution, enhancing traditional energy meters with advanced load control functions without the need for expensive replacements. It’s a step towards a smarter, greener future where utilities and consumers alike can thrive in an era of renewable energy.
By leveraging the Relay Box, utilities can align with the current energy transition, taking control of load management, preserving the integrity of the grid, and contributing to a more sustainable world. It’s not just about measuring power anymore; it’s about controlling it intelligently.
In the fast-evolving landscape of Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), establishing a robust IT infrastructure can be a daunting task for industrial service providers and infrastructure operators. The need to collect and transmit data from various locations has led to the use of mobile internet routers. However, the complexity of connecting multiple devices, along with the high costs and technical challenges involved, has called for an innovative solution.
At WM Systems, engineers have developed a cutting-edge industrial DIN rail LTE router with data concentrator capabilities, solving the existing issues and setting new standards for cost-effective and efficient industrial IoT connectivity.
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The new industrial LTE router revolutionizes the way data is collected and transmitted, offering a plethora of benefits to service providers and operators. Let’s explore how it transforms the landscape of industrial connectivity.
Gone are the days of grappling with multiple devices, converters, cables, and power supplies. With our compact router, a single device is all you need for seamless installation. The DIN rail-mountable design takes up just a few centimeters of space, making it ideal for control cabinets and electrical distribution boards. Configuration and operation are now streamlined, ensuring ease of use for any level of expertise.
Say goodbye to costly procurement and separate contracts for various devices. Our industrial router’s modular design enables multiple units to be installed side by side, saving space and costs. Malfunctioning and maintenance complications are significantly reduced, alleviating the burden on service providers and improving overall efficiency.
Our router boasts various industrial interfaces and data concentrator capabilities, catering to a wide range of M2M and IoT applications. It seamlessly connects industrial devices, energy meters, and sensors, allowing for remote reading of multiple industrial systems and centralized data transmission.
Let’s delve into the technical prowess of our industrial LTE router, engineered to excel in industrial and metering environments.
The router features a comprehensive array of industry-standard interfaces and protocols, making it the perfect fit for Industrial Automation and Smart Metering. Ethernet, RS232, RS485 ports, and a DI (Digital Input) interface provide seamless connections to your devices.
Powered by the open-source, Linux-based OpenWRT® operating system, our router is designed for maximum flexibility and customizability. Experience unparalleled control over your industrial IoT infrastructure.
Data privacy and protection are paramount. Opt for a secure TLS v1.2 connection during communication between the router and our Device Manager® platform to safeguard your valuable information.
To cater to your specific needs, we offer a range of cellular module options, ensuring that you stay connected without compromise.
Unlock the full potential of Industry 4.0 and IIoT with our innovative small-scale deployable industrial IoT router.
Simplify your IT infrastructure, reduce costs, and enhance efficiency with our cost-effective solution. Embrace the future of industrial connectivity today!
20 years ago, in 2002 two young and ambitious engineers left the telco they worked at to start their own business. The first mobile internet networks (GPRS-based) were just launched. They were aware that was the beginning of a new era, the Internet Of Things. The concept of the IoT first became popular in 1999, at MIT. They saw a huge potential in new mobile communications technologies and decided to use their skills to design cellular communications devices for industrial applications.
In the beginning the company started distributing the products of well-known international brands, such as PCMCIA cards, but at the same time, our engineers started developing our own products. The company’s first self developed product launched was a GPRS alarm signal transmitter, since we realized the problems the security industry had with landlines (because the cellular technologies are cheaper, more secure, more reliable). We offered connectivity upgrades compatible with the existing security systems, so operators would not need to replace the whole system, only a signal transmitter. Obviously, it was a great success that allowed the company to grow.
The next big milestone was a complex GPRS-based communication system we developed for the Hungarian National Health Insurance Fund. Pharmacies nationwide used our system to verify the eligibility of patients to subsidized drugs. Those modems are in use today.
We also developed a small personal GPS tracker device that was used to monitor the elderly and people working in remote dangerous locations. Sold tens of thousands to the Hungarian Postal Service (which used it to monitor the postman working) and the largest utility which used it to monitor it’s staff doing maintenance work on top of electric posts (if they fell an emergency alarm was sent).
By the 2000s we started developing industrial cellular modems and routers. In 2006, Elster, a large German electricity meter manufacturer contracted us to develop a modem for one of their meters. Mass smart metering was just starting and they realized that modem development is not their core business. Then they asked us to develop a modem for their other meter, and then yet another.. In a couple of months other meter manufacturers also trusted WM Systems to develop their modems. In the last 15 years, we have sold more than 800k modems to utilities around the world!
Today, we have 15-20 modems, alarm signal transmitters, personal GPS trackers and a few industrial routers in our portfolio. Our long-term partnership continues with some of the largest meter brands and utilities. We sell our products in more than 20 countries. Today, our organization has 40+ employees, most of them engineers.
During the two decades, we have learned a lot! We have a deep understanding of cellular technologies, their potential application in different industrial automation projects, embedded systems, information- and cyber security, industrial protocols, energy efficient applications, mobile hardware environments and smart metering. Using these skills we offer custom development of high-quality IoT devices for our industrial clients.
We currently work with 2 well-known EMS companies in Hungary and one in Romania, but have 2-3 others on stand-by, among them one that is contracted by Honeywell company to produce their PCBs. Also, we have negotiated buffer stocks for key components, so scaling is not a problem. The last 2 years, we have managed the component crises very well. There were slight delays, but nothing serious, and we did not have to cancel any projects. We have grown up and become one of the most renowned IoT developers in Europe!
We are very proud of our past and hopeful for the future! We are full of plans and ready to become a key player in industrial IoT.
As smart metering needs continue to grow, utilities are looking for cost-effective, scalable, and secure connectivity solutions and cellular provides the best option. Cellular technologies are highly scalable and secure. With national coverage, cellular connectivity can support a large number of meters in densely populated areas as well as reach those in remote locations.
Usually, smart metering allows utilities to obtain granular, accurate, and timely consumption and quality data that enables them to optimize their system and improve efficiency and revenues. Also, the data provides insights that utilities can use to ensure the optimal balance between supply and demand, hence reducing wastage, losses, and environmental degradation.
Smart metering involves collecting data at the consumer end-point and other areas along the generation and distribution infrastructure. The smart meter then transmits the data to a central server for processing and analysis. One of the main challenges is the transmission of data either from the smart meter to the server or vice versa.
Ideally, smart metering requires a reliable 2-way communication infrastructure to enable automated meter reading (AMR). Unfortunately, there is no single connectivity technology that can address all the smart metering communication needs.
Today, utilities rely on the automated metering infrastructure (AMI) which uses an array of communication technologies to serve the industries. While the AMI comprises both wired and wireless technologies, it also has some challenges. But, as cellular technology continues to evolve, it is increasingly addressing some of the problems and offering a reliable and cost-effective smart metering connectivity solution.
Communication plays a significant role in smart metering. In a typical system, the meter needs a connection to transmit and receive data to and from the utility server. However, getting a reliable connection is usually a challenge, especially in remote locations, difficult environments, and areas with a high density of smart meters. For example, some locations are far away from reliable physical communication systems such as fiber, ethernet, or WIFI. Additionally, it is very costly and difficult to do physical cabling in densely populated areas or remote and far locations.
In practice, the utilities rely on a combination of communication technologies, depending on the location, available connectivity solutions, and other factors. However, as communication technologies keep evolving, many utilities and technology providers are looking ways to develop and deploy future-ready technologies that last several years. Most metering devices have a lifespan of between 15-20 years, and the smart and connectivity technologies should support at minimum cost and without requiring additional upgrades.
When choosing a communication technology, utilities often look at various factors, including coverage, power consumption, reliability, future-ready capabilities, and security. Another consideration is their flexibility and ability to support large volumes of data hence meeting the future needs as the number of smart meters and data volumes increase.
That said, wireless technologies are attractive since they eliminate the need for expensive and labor-intensive physical cabling. The wireless technologies include 2G/3G/4G LTE/5G, LoRaWAN, NB-IoT, and others. Each of the above has its strengths and limitations and is consequently more suitable for a particular application. In most cases, utilities combine different technologies to achieve smart metering goals.
Today, cellular wireless communications have evolved in terms of coverage, data speeds, and security and therefore have the potential to replace physical fiber and ethernet networks. Further, as the cost of smart metering cellular modules and data plans continues to drop globally, the overall cost is also reducing, hence making cellular connectivity more attractive than other technologies.
The cellular solutions include 2G, 3G, 4G, and LTE, and low-power networks such as Cat-M1 and NB-IoT. Usually, all these are standard technologies and hence easily compatible with a wide range of devices. The difference between these networks is their maximum speeds, as shown below.
Conventional cellular networks
Low power cellular IoT networks
Conventional cellular networks such as the 4G and LTE networks are ideal for high data volume transfers. These have wide coverage and are available in almost any location. However, the devices on these networks consume a lot of energy and are thus not ideal for some battery-operated applications.
While these are suitable for electricity-powered smart meters, they are not the best for battery-operated devices.
One point to note is that the smart meters do not transmit data continuously. Instead, they often send small amounts of data after a certain period, say a few times a day. As such, the devices use very little power and thus help to extend the battery life. To further reduce energy consumption, it is essential to use a low-power connectivity solution.
To achieve this, most utilities use low-power cellular IoT solutions such as NB-IoT and CAT-M networks. These technologies support a wide range of IoT deployments, including those in challenging environments.
Optimized for IoT, the future-ready cellular technologies allow the direct connection of the smart meters to a 4G or LTE network.
Generally, either the NB-IoT or LTE CAT-M1 provides an ideal smart meter connectivity solution, and most vendors supply devices that support the two technologies. However, LTE CAT-M1 is more attractive due to its low latency, higher data rates, strong signal, and higher device density.
The future of Smart metering will be definitely the Cat.M1 / M2 cellular network. But it is good to know that in the case of latest LTE Cat.M and NB-IoT networks, a firmware update can take up to 5-10 minutes. Therefore, these network standards are mostly suitable for transmit small amount of data by less frequently (e.g. at every 4 hours, once a day, 2-5 times a week, etc.).
The NB-IoT/Cat.M modules are having a lot of futher benefits. These modules consuming only a fraction of energy compared tot he previous 2G-3G-4G LTE modules, with a much lower environmental impact (the cellular radiation of the modules are much lower on related frequencies), so they provide much more environmentally conscious usage – a predictable solution with much greater wireless coverage. Last but not least, these cellular modules are cheaper. For a long term, they represent an easy to migrate platform (when a new module standard appears, it is not necessary to redesign the device, just need to replace the module).
Identifying and deploying the right smart metering connectivity technology is critical in ensuring reliable, flexible, and efficient communication. Amongst the many communication solutions, cellular connectivity offers a wide range of benefits in smart metering applications.
The cost-effective technology enables the electricity utilities to easily and quickly benefit from the AMI, hence providing a better user experience while improving efficiencies and revenues.
Benefits of cellular connectivity include;
Utilities do not have to replace the older meters. All that they need is to retrofit them with add-on cellular modems. Leading smart metering and IoT technology providers such as WM systems offer a wide range of customizable internal and external cellular modems to support various wired and wireless networks.
The plug-in upgrade modules are low-power devices with flexible options and add-on capabilities to support a wide range of connectivity solutions. For example, they support older generation networks such as 2G and 3G networks, and the newer and faster 4G, LTE, and 5G.
The future-proof devices ensure that utilities can use them for the lifespan of the metering device – typically two decades or more. Low power design ensures that even devices relying on battery power can last the entire meter lifespan without requiring a replacement, hence saving on labor and maintenance costs.
Besides being future-proof, since they can support the 4G and newer cellular communication technologies such as 5G, the modules provide 2G fallback compatibility. As such, utilities can revert to the older generation networks whenever necessary.
Today, vendors such as WM systems offer internal and external add-on cellular modules that allow utilities to retrofit their existing meters instead of replacing them. Consequently, they can cost-effectively convert legacy meters into smart meters.
Connectivity is one of the critical components of smart metering infrastructure. It allows the metering device to send and receive data to the billing and control server. One requirement for smart metering connectivity is the ability to support two-way communication.
Towards this, cellular communication provides a reliable, secure, and flexible network that can scale and adapt to support an increasing number of smart metering devices. The technology offers an ideal solution to meet today’s and future smart metering communication needs.
The 450MHz Alliance organization has posted a news on its website about our new secure router. The full text of the independent technology organization’s announcement can be found below.
WM Systems, a leading global supplier of industrial cellular communication devices, announced the launch of its 450MHz Secure M2M Router for utilities. At the same time the company also announced it has joined the 450 MHz Alliance, an industry association representing interests of stakeholders.
Although the frequency is only gaining relevance in mission-critical networks in recent years, WM System has a long history with 450MHz products. 8 years ago the company launched its first 450MHz CDMA products, a few years ago the LTE450 product line and most recently the 450MHz Cat.M-NB products. Since the beginning the company focused on utilities and being an expert in mobile technologies, realized that this frequency was destined for the smart grid, as it provides wider reach, security and resilience at a reasonable cost. Ever since the company has been a true evangelist of the technology.
Grid operators are increasingly automating their medium voltage substations and lines with distribution automation and high voltage substation with substation automation. They use these systems to get power measurements to reliably integrate renewables and electric vehicles, and to remotely control the grid to recover from power outages more quickly. Automation increases the possible impact of cyber-attacks. If attackers succeed in switching off the power in a large part of those, it can take a lot of time to recover.
Back in 2015, one of the largest independent energy system operators in the Netherlands joined the European Network for Cyber Security (ENCS), an organization founded by utilities, committed to improving the security of the Smart Grid across Europe.
In 2020, the same utility published a tender for 450MHz M2M ROUTERS for devices that comply with ENCS strict security requirements. To implement the necessary security requirements WM Systems had to redesign the product almost from scratch.
The upgraded secure router uses an OTP-enabled memory chip. Chip SIM (MFF2) option and supercapacitor protection were also introduced with the latest security protocols for maximum security.
The secure boot feature ensures that the code running on our routers is authentic. This feature is hardware-anchored, meaning the first instructions that run on the CPU are stored in immutable hardware, where they cannot be tampered with. When the device boots, the microloader verifies that the next set of instructions is genuine by validating the private key on that set of instructions. To support secure boot and the encrypted storage of all customer data the flash memory was replaced by an encrypted eMMC.
To securely install code and assets after production, we offer a trustworthy remote management infrastructure (Device Manager solution), where operations are controlled through secure channels or cryptographically secured tokens.
A TEE as an isolated execution environment provides security features such as isolated execution, integrity of applications executing with the TEE, along with confidentiality of their assets.
As a result of all these security features, our clients can trust the hardware. Even if someone would try to physically tamper the device, it would not succeed in stealing data or disrupt its normal operation.
Closed, secured, and audited manufacturing processes are also very important. WM Systems is responsible for R&D, product design, hardware and software development, which allows us to maintain a closed-loop manufacturing process.
The SECURE M2M INDUSTRIAL ROUTER router offers Ethernet port, optional RS485 / Modbus port and Mbus port.
It is currently available with two cellular module options: LTE NB/Cat.M or LTE Cat.1 both on 450MHz with fallback to the public 2G network for extra network resiliency.
WM Systems is a leading global manufacturer of industrial cellular connectivity products. It has sold more than a million devices to utilities around the world since it was founded 20 years ago.
As data volumes and transfer needs continue to grow, the communications technologies are evolving into newer and better systems that provide better connectivity, speeds, capacity, and coverage. Towards this, most telco providers are shutting down the older 2G/3G communication networks and migrating to the faster 4G and 5G technologies, which have higher capacities and are more scalable to accommodate the large data volumes.
A reliable communication system is critical in ensuring effective smart metering and supporting the utility to achieve its objectives at optimal costs. As the migration happens to the faster networks, customers such as utilities who rely on the 2G and 3G networks for their smart metering needs will have to upgrade their devices to avoid disconnection.
Newer systems such as 4G, LTE, and 5G provide superior communications and connectivity compared to the older generations. To support these, leading equipment manufacturers are increasingly developing compatible devices to take advantage of the high speeds and reliable connectivity.
On the other hand, the consumers with older 2G and 3G based devices such as smart meters have two options. One option is to replace the entire smart meter with a newer and compatible model – which is costly. The other option is to upgrade the modem, which is a cheaper solution.
Usually, a smart meter comprises the actual measuring device which could be mechanical or electrical, sensors, a modem, and a communication infrastructure such as the AMI. In more flexible smart meters, consumers have the option to replace the modem, which is a more economical option that also prevents vendor lock-in.
Besides cost saving, upgrading the modem provides a future-proof solution that allows utilities to easily migrate to the newer and faster LTE networks. The option provides the same functionality as replacing a meter would. Additionally, the ability to configure the modems or update their firmware remotely further reduces physical site visits and costs.
Other benefits of upgrading modems include
Usually, some technologies change every few years, and consumers may speed a lot of money trying to catch up or enjoy the updated services. Usually, replacing existing equipment or devices is capital intensive. Luckily, most of the devices, such as, some models of smart meters comprise various components from different manufacturers. These include the actual mechanical, electromechanical, or electronics-based meter, sensors, and communications technology.
However, as the technologies such as communications advance, others such as mechanical components do not and can provide service for several years or decades.
Most renowned manufacturers such as Landis, Elster, Honeywell, and others usually build their meters with standard features. The meters have modular or plug-in-enabled features that allow the consumers to use the device on its bare minimum, in its non-smart status, or add more components to make it smart.
Towards these, other manufacturers in different areas can therefore build various components that enhance the functionality of the basic meter. For example, WM Systems is one of the top technology partners that builds a wide range of smart metering and automation products such as routers, modems, data concentrators, and others.
Communication is a critical component of the smart metering infrastructure and is key in ensuring that the utility can reliably collect all relevant metering and quality data remotely. Some of the technologies that support the smart metering systems include NB-IoT, Cat-M1, cellular modems, routers, and others which provide the required connections to sensors and other devices at the metering end.
To ensure compatibility with a wide range of the existing meters and other IoT devices, WM Systems provide universal modems that utilize the latest communication technologies. These are compatible with meters such as Landis, Elster, Honeywell, and others where they comfortably fit under the terminal covers. Additionally, the modems use the latest LTE Cat 1 technology, hence a cost-effective retrofit solution for a wide range of meters and NB-IoT devices.
While some manufacturers build complete smart meters with an integrated modem, there are communication companies that offer compatible upgrade modems. For example, WM systems provide a universal smart metering modem that works with most of the popular electricity meters and which customers can customize to meet their unique needs.
The WM-E modem product family upgrade solution allows customers to retrofit the Landis+Gyr, Itron, PME-PMI, Saphir, Elster, Honeywell, and other electricity meters from 2G to 4G LTE support. Consequently, it provides a cost-effective solution by making it easy to upgrade the smart meters from 2G/3G to the faster and higher capacity 4G LTE hence eliminating the need for costly replacements.
Since the LTE-M and NB-IoT 4G LTE devices work perfectly with 5G networks, they are future-proof and hence eliminate the need to upgrade again in the future. Besides being future-proof, the upgrade modems support backward compatibility, meaning that they will work with 4G LTE and 5G networks as well as the older 2G and 3G.
Further, they have multi-band capability that allows them to support several carriers hence allowing the customers to choose the most convenient or cost-effective network in their location.
Generally, more and more utilities will adopt the 4G LTE and 5G networks which are cost-effective solutions that benefit the utility company and consumers.
Today, the cost of deploying and supporting these networks is much cheaper compared to the older generation networks such as 2G and 3G. Besides their fast speeds and reliable communication, the cost of the new chipsets, modules, and modems for the networks have gown down compared to the older systems.
Generally, the 4G LTE and 5G cellular communication networks provide enhanced performance that benefits both the consumers and utility companies. Moving the connectivity to the new technologies has many benefits including low latency that leads to faster data transfer speeds hence shorter meter readout time. Other benefits include a larger bandwidth and higher data transmission speeds hence faster meter readouts.
The ability to read a large number of smart meters within a short time benefits the utility since they can obtain almost real-time consumption data that allows them to make better data-driven decisions, detect unusual usage or anomalies much faster, address any quality issues and respond quickly to outages.
Additionally, the optimized data flow and faster meter readout results in longer battery life or low power consumption hence reduced maintenance and energy costs. Besides the savings, the 5G technology provides better coverage, scalability, and reliability and can reach areas not previously covered by the 2G/3G networks.
Additionally, newer technologies, such as 5G, support more devices per square area compared to the older GSM networks. The modems are less bulky, with smaller antennas and overall physical size.
5G networks provide a wide range of benefits including enabling an uninterruptible stream of data regardless of network congestion, obstacles, interference, and other challenges. Consequently, the superior and faster network delivers various benefits to the utilities, consumers, telecom operators, and other stakeholders.
The benefits include
Besides reducing costs by improving the meter reading and billing, smart metering provides useful insights that enable utility companies to optimize their service delivery. The smart metering technology allows them to quickly detect and address problems hence minimizing downtimes and improving the quality of service to their customers. However, this is only possible when there is reliable communication between the smart meters and the control servers.
The meters connect to the modem through a physical connection such as RS232 or RS485. Utilities can then read the consumption data remotely via the existing cellular networks. Besides the consumption data, smart metering provides utilities with the ability to gain remote access and monitor and manage the metering and control systems.
Modems come with different capabilities. While some models, can only work with one meter, others support multi-meter connections.
The new communication technologies such as 4G LTE, and 5G have the potential to dominate the smart metering connectivity in the future. Customers with older 2G and 3G connections will need to upgrade their systems. Migrating to newer technologies means higher speeds, increased capacity, reliability, and better power and performance efficiency.
Towards this, customers can either replace the old meters or just upgrade the modems. Instead of purchasing new meters, upgrading the modem offers a more cost-effective and future-proof solution.
As the smart grid evolves, electrical utility companies are using various communication technologies to efficiently connect the distributed energy resources, energy storage systems, remotely located substations, and other assets. Ideally, this should provide a reliable, high-speed, and secure network with the capacity to transmit all the information. Towards this, some utilities have installed fiber-optic networks. These provide fast, secure, and reliable communications immune to a wide range of noise and interference usually present in electrical systems.
However, deploying and maintaining the fiber optic cable infrastructure is expensive, difficult, and almost not practical especially when you have several widely separated remote facilities. For example, the technology providers must get the right-of-way which could be a big challenge when passing through private spaces. Additionally, for remote locations in places far from the central control or common network, the challenges may not justify the costs and difficulties. As such, it becomes impractical in far remote places and especially if the capacity of electrical energy from that area is low.
To overcome some of the challenges associated with fiber networks, utilities are increasingly adopting cellular communication. Today, fast and reliable wireless networks are readily available for the industry and smart grid providers, or its is easier and less costly to deploy compared to fiber. Generally, other than the very remote areas, high-speed cellular wireless infrastructure For this reason, cellular industrial routers are increasingly becoming critical components of substation automation. These devices provide the necessary technology to link the remote facilities to a utility’s network through a wireless WAN.
Electrical utility companies and other stakeholders need to ensure that they offer cost-effective and reliable energy to industrial, commercial, and domestic consumers. As such, modernization of the grid and automating a wide range of tasks is critical across the entire electrical energy ecosystem. This not only guarantees meeting high consumer expectations and good revenues but also better asset utilization. Further, the increasing renewable energy and storage systems necessitate a two-way power flow that requires reliable monitoring and control technologies.
Usually, physically accessing and manually managing remote substations, generation-, and distribution assets is often costly and difficult, especially when spread across long distances. This makes it difficult and expensive to monitor and control the assets hence reducing the efficiency and reliability of the electrical power systems.
As utilities and other stakeholders in the electrical energy ecosystem seeks ways to optimize the systems, improve efficiency and reliability, they are increasingly adopting the smart grid. Digitization involves interconnecting the various generation, transmission, and distribution systems to a central control system that can monitor and manage the system in almost real-time. Consequently, this reduces operational costs while improving the power quality, reliability and efficiencies.
Communication plays a major role in providing a medium over which to exchange data and monitoring and control signals between the various grid assets. By enabling the flow of information between the different components of the smart grid, the communication technologies enable the energy stakeholders to optimize the systems and efficiently manage demand and supply.
Other benefits include streamlining their billing systems, generation, and distribution while maximizing resource utilization and improving revenues. Further, automating facilities such as substations is critical in improving the speed and ability to detect, predict and address faults, forecast load changes, and facilitate the demand response.
Substation automation involves the use of various hardware and software components to monitor and control the electrical facility locally and remotely. In practice, this automates most of the time-consuming, repetitive, and error-prone tasks hence improving the operations, power delivery, reliability, and efficiency.
Substation automation relies on a wide range of hardware and software components.
The IEDs comprise single or multiple microprocessors with communication capabilities to send and receive data and control signals to or from digital relays, smart meters, and other external sources. Typical IEDs include microprocessor-based digital protective relays and digital meters that can measure, record, and communicate the system parameters to a central server.
Generally, the IEDs contain valuable operational and non-operational data useful to different teams and user groups within the utility. Consequently, the IEDs and associated devices enable the utilities to improve operations, reliability, efficiency, preventive maintenance, and revenues.
The substations rely on the SCADA systems, which is usually an enterprise-level software solution to monitor and control various activities within the facility based on the information it collects.
Emerging SCADA deployments involve connecting multiple substation-specific devices and equipment such as IEDs, protective relays, RTUs, data loggers, metering equipment, and others to a common and secure network.
Usually, the system runs on a network of several substation-rated layer 2 ethernet switches for local communication. The SCADA system then uses highly secure layer 3 industrial routers to link the facility to the utility’s wide area network while protecting the assets against cyber-attacks.
Two-way communication supports the exchange of data between devices within the facility, and externally between the head-end system and substations, smart meters, generating and distribution systems. As mentioned above, the SCADA systems use the layer 2 and 3 networks to communicate internally and externally respectively.
In a typical installation, the rugged fast cellular industrial routers provide a secure connection between the remote location and the central control location. All the traffic is channeled through a secure encrypted WAN link hence minimizing the risks of cyber-attacks.
Usually, the cellular industrial routers provide a flexible, reliable, secure, and cost-effective communication solution that enables utilities to automate their substation monitoring and control activities. It eliminates the need to deploy costly fiber optic connections which in addition to deployment difficulties are also prone to physical damage and costly maintenance.
Modern industrial routers such as the M2M PRO4 are suitable for connecting remote distribution automation, SCADA, and metering applications to a common and secure utility-run network. Besides the substation, the router is also suitable for linking the remote renewable energy generation facilities to a utility-run network.
While the utility companies traditionally relied on physical communication infrastructure such as fiber optic cables, they are gradually moving towards cellular networks that are cheaper, easier to deploy and scale. Modern wireless technologies are offering more flexibility and cost-effective communication solution suitable for a wide range of applications.
Other benefits of the wireless networks include;
The compliant, cost-effective, and reliable routers such as the M2M PRO4 industrial cellular routers provide utilities with a cost-effective, secure, and easy to deploy communication solution that allows them to reliably link their remote assets to the central control platform. In particular, the solutions enable the link of the various key components, including the remote energy generating plants, distribution automation networks, metering, and substation SCADA networks and other components to a central monitoring and control system.
An industrial cellular router is a communication device that uplinks the data from fiber, ethernet, or other physical networks through a secure wireless cellular WAN. It then routes the data to a PSTN via the preferred or existing 2, 3 or 4G network service that a user chooses. Modern industrial routers are intelligent devices that support sending data at high speeds hence allowing the transmission of large amounts of information at lower costs.
Generally, industrial routers provide a flexible and scalable communication solution that allows utilities to modernize the grid. It enables the utilities to link their generation plants, the transmission HV/MV, and distribution MV/LV substations to a common network via wireless networks. This enables the utility companies to remotely monitor and manage the generation and consumption as well as the power delivery.
Besides working as the primary communication devices linking the substation to the utility’s control room, the industrial cellular routers can work as a backup in locations with an already existing fiber network link. In case the fiber cable connectivity fails, they can switch over to the wireless connection hence minimizing the downtime. An automatic fail-over ensures a high fault tolerance level while preventing loss of communication between the remote substation and the control center.
The M2M PRO4 is a rugged and robust industrial router that provides a secure, reliable, and fast connectivity solution between the remote substations and utility control rooms. In particular, the M2M PRO4 is one of the best industrial cellular routers suitable for demanding substation automation applications. The routers are built to provide the highest level of cybersecurity hence ensuring the protection of all the data and connected assets.
Key features include
Despite the high speed, noise immunity, and other benefits fiber networks offer, it is expensive and sometimes difficult to install in some environments. On the other hand, the industrial wireless routers can connect the remote facilities to the utility’s control center and provide low latencies and capacity like the fiber networks.
Wireless cellular communication has the potential to increase the adoption of substation automation. Towards this, leading automation technology companies, such as WM Systems, are providing industrial routers to facilitate the adoption and transition from rigid fiber to more flexible multi-purpose wireless networks.
For more details, check out the M2M cellular industrial router and other industrial automation devices.
As demand for water increases amidst dwindling resources and high operating costs, the utility companies are increasingly adopting smart metering to improve efficiency and savings. Most companies are gradually replacing the traditional meters that require manual reading with smart models that utilities can read remotely.
Today, smart water metering is enabling utility companies to improve service, billing efficiencies, and revenues while reducing wastage and costs. The digital solutions provide the water utilities and consumers with almost real-time usage data hence enabling the companies to predict the consumption patterns.
Unlike the traditional meters, smart metering utilize digital technologies such as sensors to measure consumption, a communication network to send and receive data, and control signals. It also requires a server to process the received meter data, generate and send bills, and control signals.
Usually, smart metering requires reliable 2-way communication since the meter needs to send and receive data to and from the processing server or control point. However, one challenge in the water industry is the lack of underlying infrastructure to support two-way communication.
The communication technology for smart water meters has evolved in the recent past. That said, there is still a wide range of potential wireless technologies for any given application, and the choice may depend on cost, available infrastructure, and environment. The list below shows some of the available options and their ranges. Most of these support the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI).
Up to 10KM
Up to 50KM
100-6000km
Some of these have a limited range and require costly infrastructure. Further, customers may be tied to a particular provider, which is not the case with cellular where you are likely to find multiple different providers in any one area. In practice, no single communication solution can meet all the needs of the entire system from the metering device at the consumer premises to the data processing server.
Deploying a combination of some technologies often results in complex and costly systems. However, wireless cellular provides one of the most easy-to-use technology.
Just like the way a mobile phone works, the cellular-enabled wireless smart meter collects consumption and other relevant data which it then sends to a processing server over the cellular network. However, the smart meter sends much less information compared to a cellphone which has the capacity to send high-quality images.
Consequently, the meters have lower data capacity and energy requirements. Today, the advances in long-lasting batteries ensure that the smart meter can last several years before requiring a charge or replacement.
Utilities can overcome the complexities of combining many solutions by using cellular wireless networks since they offer a wide range of cost and operational benefits. The cellular meters connect directly to existing mobile networks and therefore do not require additional physical infrastructure beyond the existing telecom towers.
Additionally, the cellular communication networks, available in almost any location, including densely and sparsely populated areas, are more stable and can withstand harsh conditions such as floods, storms, and others.
Since the cellular networks are built to accommodate voice and data, the meters will not need additional components such as cabling, antennas, repeaters, data collection units, and others that may increase the complexity and costs of deploying the smart metering system.
Usually, the cellular-enabled water smart meters are plug-and-play. As such, they do not require additional network devices or infrastructure as long as there is an existing cellular network. With such devices, it is possible to install and start using them immediately.
Despite the lower deployment requirements, the startup costs may however be significant since the utility needs to purchase the cellular meters. Most often, the purchase and the installation costs could be double or even thrice than that of the traditional manual models.
Although smart metering reduces the need to carry out manual meter reading, there could be a need to retrain the staff to install, operate and maintain digital systems. Additionally, there will be a need to change the systems to receive and process data electronically as opposed to manual methods, train consumers, manage the data, and more.
Usually, most smart meters are low-power devices that rely on battery energy. Due to the locations and general layout of the water distribution networks, it can be difficult to supply the devices with mains electricity. As such, most operates on long-lasting batteries which should ideally last several years before requiring replacement.
There could be a challenge when in low signal locations since this will degrade performance and drain the battery faster.
Also, as this is an evolving trend, utilities may experience a shortage of compatible smart water meters that communicate over cellular networks.
Wireless smart meters provide a wide range of benefits including lower deployment and maintenance costs, faster data acquisition, and more. Generally, smart metering regardless of the communication technology used provides transparency in billing and better customer engagement.
The digital systems deliver various other benefits including providing timely data and the ability to track usage in almost real-time. Some devices come with apps that allow consumers to monitor their usage on their mobile phones or computers hence managing the consumption better. Also, they are able to query their current bills any time hence enabling them to plan better.
Besides consumer benefits, water utility companies can save a lot on operational costs. For example, smart solutions, whether on AMI or cellular, supports remote water metering, hence eliminating the need for workers to go to read the consumption.
Additionally, smart metering supports the use of other sensors that can detect leakages, theft, and water quality. Consequently, utilities are able to reduce wastage while improving quality and services. Also, the automated meter reading AMR is more accurate. As such, it eliminates the many human errors that often occur with manual reading hence reducing the consumer complaints and time spent to resolve them.
As utilities move to smart metering, cellular-based smart metering is likely to experience a higher growth compared to those using other communication technologies. However, there are technologies such as LTE-M and NB-IoT which will still have a good share of the markets and will create a viable hybrid private/public option.
Also, as the AMI continues to evolve and expand, utilities will have a wider choice of communication technology to adapt. For wireless technologies, cellular stands out due to its various benefits. Research by Omdia says that cellular and LPWAN (low-power, wide area network) communication technologies will account for 20 percent of the smart meters. Advances in battery technologies also justify investing in cellular-based smart water meters.
Today, the various hardware manufacturers, telecommunication companies, and technology integrators are working together to deliver solutions that address smart metering needs. For example, this has resulted in delivering easy-to-install plug-and-play cellular-based smart water meters that utilizes existing cellular networks infrastructure. In most cases, telecom companies even offer smart metering communication services at lower rates compared to the normal mobile phone charges.
Additionally, some independent technology integrators or providers are offering cellular endpoints which are cost-effective and flexible while enabling utilities to streamline their deployments. The cellular endpoints eliminate the need for the water utility to install and maintain its AMI supporting infrastructure. Instead, the utilities use the existing and latest cellular communication networks.
Today, there are emerging cellular-based, infrastructure-free AMI systems that allow the utilities to link the smart meters to universal third-party cellular network providers. Unlike the traditional AMI that requires the utilities to install and/or use and maintain propriety, fixed communication networks, the newer systems do not require these and have fewer vendor lock-in risks.
Cellular networks are today offering reliable and resilient communication suitable for almost any form of smart metering. As such, as the adoption of the cellular-based AMI continues to grow, most utilities will find the cellular-based smart meters more cost-effective and reliable.
Digital technologies are providing utilities with a wide range of operational and optimization opportunities. In particular, adding intelligent sensors and processing platforms enables smart metering which allows utilities to monitor their systems in real-time. Consequently, the water or electricity company can get instant meter readings remotely. Other than consumption, the technologies allow operators to monitor the lines for quality issues, outages, and other metrics. In case of a failure, they are also able to automatically detect failures and take the necessary action. For example, if there is a fault on a certain section of the network, the digital technologies can disconnect the affected area and isolate it from the healthy part, hence minimizing the number of customers that experience disruption.
Despite the said benefits, digital solutions have various drawbacks such as being prone to cyberattacks. The fact that the sensors, smart meters, and other assets are exposed physically and digitally makes it easy for criminals to access and compromise them.
The increased surface attack is attractive to the cyber attackers and especially when there are communication devices such as routers with weak security and authentication.
While connectivity offers a wide range of operations and cost-cutting opportunities, it exposes the various physical and digital assets to cyber security threats and attacks
Usually, the router is one of the weak points and this makes it an attractive target for hackers since once they log into the device, they can see all the other components, monitor traffic, set up their network, among many other malpractices.
Once the criminals attack a system, they can compromise the company and consumer data, cause disruptions and outages that would result in economic losses as well as increased safety and security risks.
Routers are critical components of the critical infrastructure that power the internet, smart metering, and remote control communications. During operation, the router, which is a dedicated communication computer, is responsible for making the required connections between the client device and the receiving equipment such as a server and vice versa. They act as the gateways to the network, hence has the responsibility to receive and forward network traffic while still responding to the client devices.
Upon receiving a request, the router routes the signal or forwards the packets to the destination address. Unfortunately, most routers such as some models for home wireless networks have several security vulnerabilities that expose the connected devices to security attacks.
The insecure routers are a risk to the critical grid infrastructure. Once the hackers access the smart metering network, they can do a lot of harm including but not limited to;
An attack on a router is when bad actors exploit the vulnerabilities in the protocols, weak authentication, use of default passwords, out-of-date router software, etc. Attackers may use brute force methods to crack the passwords and these may lead to denial of service and other actions that interrupt normal operations, data theft, etc.
Other reasons why routers are vulnerable include poor encryption and security of the routing table, hence allowing the attackers to compromise or modify the information and direct traffic to a server they control.
Usually, the criminals will exploit routers by taking advantage of already existing vulnerabilities or oversights. In particular, routers with the following are issues that are very easy to attack
In addition to a strong team to deploy and maintain a strong cyber security posture, using routers with high-security features is critical in protecting the infrastructure. The teams should continuously monitor and check the systems, identify and fix vulnerabilities. Usually, protecting the infrastructure against attacks is a complex process that requires an integrated approach that combines the use of secure practices, hardware, and software solutions.
Ideally, the security and especially of the routers should be at all levels. Ideally, a router that provides all-around protection ensures maximum data security for the infrastructure.
Although the router technology may differ across different vendors and models, the following are some basic features to look for when planning your network.
Addressing the security risks and threats requires deploying reliable solutions and following proven policies and processes. Additionally, teams must verify the integrity and authenticity of each device on the infrastructure, including their hardware and software.
Utilities and technology providers must ensure tight security for the systems, and make them hard to penetrate. In particular, using highly secure routers such as the ENCS approved devices and practices provides ideal protection, hence making the networks difficult to penetrate,
The European Network for Cyber Security (ENCS) is an organization that provides guidelines on how to protect critical infrastructure. It covers a wide range of issues including but not limited to defining the security requirements of the infrastructure.
The collaboration focuses on evaluating the network protocols and assisting organizations on how to respond to security vulnerabilities. It helps organizations procure and implement secure infrastructure and respond to identified threats and vulnerabilities.
ENCS certification is only available to secure devices that meet various requirements. Further, the organization has developed several security documents that grid operators, stakeholders, and technology providers need, to secure their infrastructure and operations.
In particular, the documents, which are usually aligned with the ISO/IEC 27000 standards, focus on
Ideally, the grid operators should comply with the specified security requirements when building a new or updating a digital-based system. Generally, there are five types of ENCS recommendations, each focusing on certain areas as below
Only devices that pass the exhaustive security testing are certified. Luckily, WM System is one of the few manufacturers with high-quality, secure, and ENCS certified routers. Some of our highly secure routers for critical infrastructure include;
Enhancing the security in the industrial network should be a priority for both the utility and security teams. Other than routing traffic, the router should ideally work as the first line of defense for critical infrastructures such as computer and industrial networks.
Besides the use of secure hardware devices, the network design should follow best security practices. For example, segmenting the network depending on applications, devices, and desired access levels will reduce the attack surface and impact.
On one hand, the processing platform should be on its secure network and only accessible by specific users, such as admins. The area that consumers need to access should also be limited on what users can do.
Although they are vulnerable, the routers can provide a reliable first line of defense for the networks and critical infrastructure.
To prevent unauthorized access and protect the infrastructure, network components, and grid assets, it is essential to harden the main components such as routers and switches. Typical practices include enabling the firewalls, and other security features such as the Intrusion prevention systems (IPS), using strong passwords, enabling anti-spoofing filters, securing the protocols and keys, etc.
Routers with strong security features help to protect the consumers, utility systems, and data. Typical devices use secure boot, as well as strong cryptographic technologies.
Ideally, the network routers should be included in the overall security plan. Some of the considerations include configurations, admin access, privilege levels, passwords, authentication, and authorization. The network administrator and relevant IT teams also need to ensure physical security and how to respond to incidences and logging violations.
A secure boot eliminates a wide range of exploits. In particular, it hardens the router against attacks. It also prevents the modification of critical firmware features. Generally, the secure boot feature ensures that the router will only boot from authorized and unmodified software. The hardware-based secure boot feature is harder to penetrate or crack even with physical access.
Usually, the boot process relies on an unbroken chain of trust. A typical boot process follows the following steps
In practice, secure routers employ hardware-based crypto processes to prevent attackers from compromising the secret key, including in environments where the criminals have physical access to the router. However, to fulfill this role, the router should have enhanced security capabilities.
Attackers know the importance of encryption, but as usual, they are usually ahead or looking for ways to beat the systems. That said some products employ multiple security layers that make it hard for hackers to break into a system.
Out of date firmware is one of the major flaws that results in exposing the device to various exploits. A good router should have a means to securely update its firmware to fix the security vulnerabilities and bugs hence protect it against existing and emerging threats.
Generally, there is no anti-virus for a router, the best security is to protect the device through the use of secure hardware and software components.
In most routers, the default pre-installed firmware is usually insecure. The firmware, usually based on the open-source operating system, is also problematic at times. The flaws in features such as the WPS or the Wi-Fi-protected setup, which is usually enabled by default, allows the new users to protect their network. However, it has various security flaws that remote attackers can exploit and access the network with little effort. Luckily, locking the firmware makes it difficult for attackers to access and modify the configuration.
Generally, authenticating the routing protocols with a password and then adding encryption helps to improve security. However, since the credentials are sent through the network as clear text, attackers ban intercept and steal the credentials. As such, adding encryption adds an extra security layer that makes it more difficult for hackers to read the password.
The routing protocols are essential in exchanging information between network devices. An anti-spoofing filter is useful in preventing the forged packets from external users and making them look like they are coming or originating from the internal network.
When attackers send spoofed packets that look like they are coming from internal trusted systems, they can bypass or manipulate the established security controls. For example, if an attacker inserts false routing information, the router may relay the network traffic to a different destination that the cybercriminals control. Alternatively, the attacker may bypass the intrusion detection systems or firewall and gain access to restricted areas.
The antispoofing filters protect the router and the networks behind it. Once implemented, the filters will stop attackers from spoofing the connections to the router. Additionally, the filters will block a wide range of attacks targeting other assets other than the router.
A firewall usually monitors the incoming and outgoing traffic while allowing specific types and blocking others. The firewall is a major feature that you should consider when looking for a secure router for critical infrastructure. A good security practice is to always ensure that the firewall is enabled at all times and configured appropriately to only allow safe traffic and block what appears suspicious or does not meet the set threshold.
If possible use a tamper-proof mechanical housing with the ability to alert relevant people when compromised. Further, the use of secure hardware chips to store critical security information such as credentials, cryptographic keys, and the router’s certificates and more will enhance security. The chip should ideally provide secure, tamper-proof storage for the router configuration data and other important information.
To achieve this, the router must support mutual authentication and authorization between devices on the network. Other features include enforcing strong usernames and passwords as well as certificate-based security.
The router needs to support scalable and flexible encryption keys management. As such, it should have a secure way to generate exchange, store and revoke the keys.
To protect the system and prevent attackers from accessing other networks, it is critical to segment the networks. That is operational technology (OT) and Informational Technology (IT) should run on different networks so that if an attacker manages to penetrate one, it is impossible to access the other segment, hence a smaller impact.
Better still, building a zero trust segmentation enhances the security much further
Secure routers can help to build segmented networks separated by a strong security boundary. For example, segmenting the OT and IT networks provides the security teams with more control and ability to manage the network traffic better, including deploying filters to only allow the industrial protocols that the application requires.
Ideally, a good router should support network segmentation of the devices, applications, and users within the NAN and WAN environments. Also, the routers in the field should have the ability to filter the traffic and differentiate between users and devices. All critical assets should be deployed behind reliable and high-security firewalls.
While there are so many products in the market, it is important to use reliable, secure, and trusted routers. In particular, look for a certified product such as the M2M industrial routers from WM Systems. These are proven and reliable products designed for critical infrastructure such as smart metering networks. The products are ENCS certified, hence thoroughly tested and confirmed to comply with the stringent security standards that the body specifies. The routers meet the standard security standards and regulations that govern secure grid digitization.
Cyber security risks increase as the need for operational data grows as well as sophisticated threat actors and attack techniques. As more meters connect to the network, the attack surface increases significantly.
Although there is a need to deploy highly secure routers for the infrastructure, it is important to use devices that combine advanced security and enhanced performance capabilities. Other than the inbuilt features, there are some practices that IT teams should use to enhance security. Some of these include;
Connected technologies are enabling companies and service providers to automate and improve operations and services, hence reduce costs and travel, while improving quality control and maintenance.
However, over the recent past, critical infrastructure has been one of the major targets of cyber-attacks. And this is a big risk since if criminals manage to access the systems; they can perform dangerous operations like shutting down critical infrastructure such as the electric grid. Besides data theft and outages such action will cause, the criminals can also issue commands that will damage major infrastructure components. For these reasons, the security of all the major components of critical infrastructure systems should be a high priority.
Routers enable communication between various devices over a network and are usually the weak link. As such, to secure the networks, it is essential to use reliable, scalable, and highly secure routers. These should ideally protect the infrastructure and networks against unauthorized access while enabling communication between genuine computers.
Despite being vulnerable and prone to exploits, some secure and reliable routers can also work as a robust first line of defense for critical networks. In particular, WM system M2M routers, which are ENCS approved, have inbuilt security features, that, when configured well, provides the highest security to the industrial and other critical networks.
Smart metering is a digital technology that enables utilities to streamline their activities, reduce operational costs, wastage, and outages. Initially designed for the electric grid, the technology is suitable for others such as water and gas utilities, decentralized power generation and distribution companies, and more.
Usually, the metering system integrates different technologies to empower utilities and consumers with regular information about the consumption and quality of the supply.
A typical system has meters, a data collection device, a 2-way communication network, and a data processing server. When combined, the resulting data collection, transmission, and processing enable authorities to monitor and control a wide range of assets and services.
Ideally, it enables the utility company to continuously monitor and manage its infrastructure, consumption, and service quality. Consequently, this improves the delivery, efficiencies, and revenues.
By improving efficiency, smart metering provides various benefits to consumers, utility companies, and governments.
Smart metering provides almost real-time information about consumption and user behavior, the health status of the electrical, gas, or water supply network. It also provides the utilities with the ability to monitor and control various components from remote locations.
As smart metering technologies continue to evolve, they will support a wide range of other activities. These include but not limited to providing efficient distribution automation, support for plug-in EVs, integrating renewable energy and support for DERs, effective load, and demand forecasting, increasing efficiency and revenue, etc.
As more people, businesses and utilities invest in green energy, the intermittent nature of renewables results in some instabilities due to the mismatch between consumption and generation. Utilities and private power companies can use smart metering to address the challenge.
One approach is to integrate the systems with sensors and communications devices. The communication between the various components and the utility enables utilities to perform automatic demand responses.
Deploying smart metering is a capital-intensive activity since it requires replacing or upgrading traditional meters installing a communication and data processing platform. Some of the challenges include;
Deploying a smart metering technology is capital intensive, and as digital technologies continue to evolve, the systems are getting more complex and, therefore, requiring constant upgrading of equipment and skills. However, some utility companies are today moving from capital expenditure to operating expenditure to save on costs and increase flexibility. That said, the x-As-A-Service business models are gaining popularity across different industries.
As such, utility companies that do want to incur the high capital costs of designing, deploying, and managing a smart metering system, should consider outsourcing the services to vendors or third-party providers. The approach allows them to outsource part or the entire technology comprising the physical assets, infrastructure, and operations. And this enables them to focus on their core business at lower capital and human resource costs. Additionally, it prevents vendor lock-ins, equipment upgrading, and other ongoing expenses which they would have required to remain up to date.
In the case of smart metering, the provider or vendor is responsible for the purchase and installation of the assets, and the management, operational, and maintenance of the infrastructure. The vendor also ensures that the utility gets accurate and timely metering data as per agreed terms.
The choice of an outsourced or managed service depends on the technology posture of a company and the gap they want to fill. Services that a company can outsource range from software, such as software-as-a-service to hardware, such as the Equipment-as-a-Service (EaaS).
Depending on the utility requirements, it can subscribe to a single offering or an entire AMI infrastructure. In addition to reducing the upfront cost, the managed services have shorter deployment times and lower overall costs. Also, using a service such as SaaS or other cloud-based applications relieves the utility’s internal resources. Further, it eliminates the need to upgrade skills and implement complex systems to operate and manage an in-house smart metering infrastructure.
Among the most common business models in the utility industry are;
Equipment-as-a-Service, (EaaS) is a service model where a utility company, end-users, or other businesses leases equipment from a provider instead of purchasing the assets. In this arrangement, the third-party provider does the installation, management, operational, and maintenance of the leased equipment. Also known as a Machine-as-a-Service, the benefits of the service-driven business model include;
Metering as a service (MaaS) is a business model where a provider hosts and operates metering services tailored to meet the needs of a utility company. The service offering helps to reduce capital costs and enables the utility company to focus more on its core business. In a MaaS plan, the service provider delivers the metering data to the utility according to the agreed scope.
Typical offerings include daily or hourly consumption data, quality measurements, and providing the necessary management of the metering infrastructure and communications systems.
Also, the provider must have the capacity to provide business continuity and quick recovery solutions when there is an outage or disruption.
The Metering-as-a-Service benefits include
The LaaS model allows organizations to upgrade their lighting systems and control technologies with zero upfront costs. In most cases, retrofitting replace older lighting systems with newer and more energy-efficient LED lights and controls. The upgrade results in lower utility bills and the savings are passed onto the consumer. Commercial and industrial spaces are increasingly adopting the LaaS model in which the consumer pays for the light instead of purchasing and installing the lighting equipment and components. Ideally, a LaaS provides customers with a high-quality lighting solution at zero capital costs.
Benefits include;
The number of utilities adopting smart metering is increasing by the day. However, the electricity companies leading in the number of deployment. The metering has evolved, and the power companies can use a wide range of existing and additional technologies, including PLCs (power line communications), microwaves, and fiber optic cables to connect their meters to central processing servers.
Luckily, the power companies have no problem deploying intelligent technologies since they can use electrical energy to power their devices. However, water and gas may have some challenges since they cannot use their distribution infrastructure to transmit signals. As such, they must add more devices and also power them from the grid or long-lasting batteries.
Consequently, smart metering for the gas and water utilities has been lagging due to higher deployment costs compared to electricity. However, AMI architecture overcomes this by providing necessary infrastructure at a lower cost.
To install a smart metering solution, utility companies need to invest in various hardware and software components, and the skills to deploy, operate and maintain the system. Usually, any digital system is often vulnerable, thus exposed to security threats and the smart grid is not an exception.
While the cellular networks have evolved, some locations and especially the remote areas with low-density populations, still operate on the 2 G networks. These are not only slow but unable to support large volumes of data. Also, as many cellular companies are phasing out the 2G, equipment manufacturers are no longer building new devices for the network. Consequently, AMI companies could be shunning away from the networks since it could be very costly to deploy the systems, and also when there is a need to upgrade.
Generally, the 2 G provides a viable solution, especially in countries where it is widely used and likely to continue like this for some more years. However, some utility and AMI companies are avoiding big investments in the 2G systems in some markets – citing risks of incurring huge costs to upgrade when the cellular companies migrate to newer generation networks.
However, all is not lost, because as the cellular companies phase out the 2G and move to newer generations, there are freeing up the 450 MHz spectrum, which utilities can use to build their private LTE 450 networks.
Although utilities can use public cellular networks, these at times suffer from congestion and signal losses. To overcome the challenges, the providers have been turning to the LTE 450 private networks. One benefit of the 450 MHz spectrum is that it is increasingly becoming free as more cellular operators phase it out as they move their networks to higher frequencies.
In particular, the LTE 450 provides secure, stable, and reliable connectivity with better coverage compared to the other wireless technologies. Benefits of private LTE networks include;
Beyond the economic benefits AMI and smart metering offers, they have been instrumental in improving the safety of the employees and consumers during the COVID-19 epidemic. Remote meter reading enforces social distancing automatically since workers do not have to visit the consumer’s households. In addition to these, traveling is reducing hence minimizing physical interactions between employees and the public.
Ideally, both the consumer and utility wins by the reduced physical exposure. Employees can work remotely from home while performing some control functions remotely.
Smart metering has been helping utilities to remotely read meters and perform other functions, such as connecting or disconnecting the supply remotely. Consequently, this minimizes physical contact as well as exposing the employees. Additionally, most of the employees can work from home.
Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) refers to the entire infrastructure that supports smart metering. It comprises various hardware and software components that include smart meters, data collection devices at the consumer end, and data processing servers at the utility end. It also has a two-way communication network and various control equipment that connects and manages the components in the smart metering system.
Jointly, the various hardware and software components support the entire metering life cycle. That is, the systems support all the processes from data acquisition to delivering final consumption information to the consumers. In practice, the AMI architecture provides a two-way communication system that enables sending the consumption data to a meter data management system (MDMS) which then manages the processing and storage as well as the analysis. Afterward, it provides useful information to the utility and consumers.
The data communication can be through the standard fixed networks such as the public wired or wireless networks, fiber PLC, RF networks, and others that are available at the point of application. Other than supporting remote and automated meter reading that offers error-free data, an AMI provides the required infrastructure to identify network problems, quality issues, energy audits, and other operational and optimization functions. In the electric grid, AMI also supports remote load profiling, shedding, and other activities.
Although the system comprises so many different parts, below are the major components.
The smart meters collect the consumption data at regular intervals from the customer’s premises. It then sends the data through the two-way communication infrastructure. Consumers can use smart meters to monitor their consumption and other useful information from the utility. Also, through the meters and integrated IoT, and other sensors, the utilities can gain insights into the consumption and quality of the electrical power water or gas supplies.
The data acquisition includes data concentrator units (DCUs) and control devices that help to collect the data from smart meters and then send it to the MDMS through the communication networks. Usually, the communication networks provide the connection between the meter and the data processing platform. It includes networks such as PLC, broadband, fiber optic, RF, wired and wireless public networks, etc.
The MDMS are processing servers and systems that receive, store, process, and analyze the data from the meter. They then provide utility bills, asset status, demand and consumption, feedback, and other useful information which utility operators and consumers can access remotely using mobile phones and internet-connected devices. Additionally, the servers can issue control signals to isolate problems, connect or discontent the consumer, and many more functions.
Data communication is one of the main components of smart metering. In practice, it provides a connection between the consumers’ metering device and the remote utility control servers. The type of communication technology may differ from one location to the other depending on the available network.
Smart metering deployment has been gradual and thus relying on existing communication infrastructure. Typical installations include a mix of network connectivity such as Ethernet, microwaves, electric power lines, fiber optic cables, cellular wireless, Wi-Fi, and other standard and proprietary LAN and LAN technologies.
The wired technologies offer physical connectivity which is usually reliable and good when connecting a small number of devices. However, with increasing numbers, which can run into millions of devices, connecting them physically is going to be uneconomical and impractical. Also, the same applies to the rural and remote areas with few consumers and larger distances separating them. For this reason, wireless connectivity offers a more practical and cost-efficient solution.
Factors a utility should consider when choosing a communication technology include bandwidth, latency, reliability, coverage, spectrum availability, cybersecurity, backup power requirements, and cost.
Although there is no standard design when building the communications technologies for AMI, most utilities deploy a two-layer system. One layer connects the communications towers, substations, and other intermediate data collection points to the data management systems. The layer often uses high-speed networks such as fiber optic, PLC, or cellular wireless or microwave to backhaul large volumes of data.
The other layer connects the smart meters with the immediate collection points and relies on RF mesh, PLC, and other communication technologies. They may then use wireless mesh for field communications.
Utilities are increasingly using wireless networks to establish two-way communications in AMI. Unlike the costly, difficult to install, and scale wired networks, the wireless technologies provide a scalable, reliable, and cost-effective connectivity solution and coverage. The deployment includes point to point o multipoint as well as mesh topologies. Each of these topologies has its benefits and limitations, and suitability.
That said, it is best practice to choose the system that best fits the particular application while enabling the utility to meet its objectives and or goals.
A wireless network is easier to install and even connect to devices in hard-to-reach locations. Additionally, cellular wireless networks are already in many places, and the utilities can take advantage of these instead of building their infrastructure.
Currently, smart metering has been working across different wired and wireless networks such as 2G, 3G, 4G, and 4G LTE. Each of these has its pros and cons, such as slow speed and capacity issues. However, the new 5G cellular technology provides better and more reliable connectivity due to its higher capacity and low latency.
It also connects more devices than the 4G and other networks. The 5G systems are, in addition to low consumption, more energy-efficient, hence longer lifespans for battery-operated metering devices.
Existing cellular networks such as the 2G and 3 G are slow and unable to support the efficient transmission of large amounts of data. The 5G has superior qualities, and utilities can take advantage of its fast speeds and high capacity. Generally, the 5G networks carry more data at higher speeds. 5G is also more energy-efficient compared to other cellular network technologies such as 4G and older generations
However, the networks have shorter wavelengths and range hence requires more stations located closer to the users.
In AMI, the utilities can build their private 5G network in collaboration with the cellular service providers. A private 5G network would deliver benefits such as
As 5G technologies mature, they will provide an even better enabling network. Usually, the 5G networks provide faster connections with low latency. Also, they can support a much higher density of devices, uses less power, and thus environmentally friendly. As technologies advance, the 5G networks will support remote robots, the Internet of Things (IoT), drone, and other technologies that operators can use to perform manual tasks such as repairing and fixing faulty infrastructure components. Additionally, the 5G has the potential to bring up other new business models.
Smart metering is increasingly offering data-driven energy products and services that rely on new technologies. Towards this, many utilities are adopting connected technologies to improve efficiency.
Collecting data from meters more frequently enables utilities to make more informed decisions and consumers to gain visibility into the usage – which can help them adjust accordingly to save costs. Through smart metering, providers can offer other value-added services such as energy management and internet-connected lighting systems.
A router DCU is an electronic device that delivers a combination of hardware and software functions to support smart metering and automation. Usually, smart metering provides real-time data that allows utilities or Distribution System Operators (DSOs) and consumers to understand their water or electricity usage and other important data such as quality and outages. However, to do this requires a combination of several technologies.
Most utilities deploy router DCUs to bridge the communication between a group of meters on one end and the utility server on the other side. The data concentrators are also applicable within substations where they enable utilities to collect data from many sources and avail it in one central place.
In practice, the DCU connects to multiple meters or sensors on one end while linking the aggregated output to a single processing server.
Besides information collection, they double as routers where they transmit the data through inbuilt cellular wireless modules. However, some devices such as M2M router DCUs have an Ethernet connection and support for an optional Wi-Fi add-on module. For locations without cellular networks, the utilities may consider the other connectivity solutions and, in some cases, rely on a combination of technologies.
Smart metering involves integrating different technologies to collect, store and transmit data to a central server for processing. A bi-directional communication network allows transmitting data from the meters to the server, which then, after processing, sends back the billing data and control commands to manage the utility.
All these require stable technology components and integration to ensure reliability hence improve operations and efficiency. With so many vendors and device models, utilities often encounter incompatibility and reliability issues, which may drive up the costs.
As smart metering and automation technologies continue to evolve, some manufacturers are building multifunction devices that reduce integration issues. One of these is the Data Concentrator Unit (DCU). A router DCU combines the two functions, of data collection and transmission, into one device. As such, it is helping utilities to overcome some of the challenges on the metering side.
In the AMI architecture, the DCU usually sits at the data perception layer. Depending on the configuration or requirements, the DCU can work as a data collection device to gather the information from the smart meters. It can also work as an IoT gateway to enable connectivity between the smart meters and the management system.
In practice, the DCU continuously polls the metering devices located in the same substation. It then stores the data it collects from the meters while periodically sending it to a management platform. Additional management functions include identifying the addition and removal of the plug and play meters, synchronizing the meter, supervision and control, and more.
In most cases, the DCUs can store various data for a certain length of time. For example, in the absence of a communication network, the device will continue collecting and storing data in its inbuilt memory. Typical meters can store the data for up to 60 days.
As a gateway between a meter and a central data collection system (CDCS), it does the following;
Usually, the router DCUs come with compatible interfaces that allow utilities to connect them to a wide range of smart meters and communication infrastructures. Some of the functions they support include;
A typical router DCU works as a data integrator and IoT gateway – supporting data collection from multiple meters and consequent transmission to central servers.
In an automated metering architecture, there are two major sections. On the meter side, the DCU collects the information from the metering devices. The other side of the DCU acts as the router or gateway that transmits the meter data to the utility’s server.
To explain this better, we will use a typical M2M Router DCU.
The M2M router DCU is a high-performance cellular router with a data concentrator that can read data from a cluster of smart meters. It has inbuilt ports such as the Ethernet, RS485, and M-Bus on the metering side. However, you can add expansion modules to provide other custom ports, such as the wireless M-Bus. Usually, the availability of several interfacing options increases the number of different meters that the DCU can connect to and support.
On the other side, the DCU acts as a gateway that uses standard cellular technologies such as 2G/3G/4G/5G or 4GLTE. In some cases, users may add an optional Wi-Fi module in locations where cellular is unavailable.
During operations, the DCU reads data from multiple meters at set intervals. It then stores the data in its inbuilt storage and may also copy the information to an optional SD-card. Once a server requests the data, the DCU compresses it and then transmits it securely to the processing platform.
All the M2M Router DCUs are compatible with a wide range of electricity and water meters. The devices support all the major network and management protocols hence ensuring interoperability with different systems and devices. Additionally, M2Mserver routers provide high data security and compliance with a wide range of regulations. Besides utilities, the router DCUs are suitable for industrial automation, sub-metering, and other applications. The ability to connect up to 10 meters to one DCU makes sub-metering more cost-effective and attractive.
Automated meter reading (AMR) and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) are technologies that empower the smart grid. The AMI architecture, in particular, enables bidirectional communications that support comprehensive utility management systems.
On the other hand, AMR enables utilities to read the metering data and status information automatically. Additionally, the utilities can monitor their systems and receive alerts when a predetermined condition such as a failure occurs.
In a typical system, the smart meter collects the consumption data and stores it in its internal memory. A DCU connected to the meter via an M-Bus wire, or other technology, then retrieves this information at preset intervals or on-demand. It then transmits the data to a processing server through a 2, 3, or 4G wireless cellular network, broadband, or a combination of available communication technologies.
A typical AMR requires a smart meter, a DCU, and a piece of communication equipment such as a router or modem. However, the router DCU reduces the number of devices by combining the data collector and router functions.
In most cases, manufacturers build data concentrators that utilities can customize to meet their unique requirements based on available networks and other conditions. For this reason, the DCUs support multiple protocols, interfaces, and networks. The supported interfaces include RS 485, RS 232, M-Bus, Ethernet port, GSM, etc.
On the router side that communicates with the server, the DCU may use wireless cellular technologies such as GSM/ GPRS, Ethernet, WI-FI, etc. However, it may require combining different technologies depending on the environment.
The router DCUs collect, aggregate, and transmit data from tens of connected smart meters. Additionally, they translate the communication protocols between various metering devices, sensors, and utility management platforms.
Generally, the units enable the utilities to control and manage devices and operations in their complex network and sensor environments.
Router DCUs for low-density locations
The design for router DCUs for dispersed locations with a low or medium density of consumers may differ from the standard models that target more populated areas. One of the most commonly used types is the pole-mounted DCU. Unlike the DCUs for densely populated areas, these units integrate all the functions that a Distribution Network Operator (DNO) offers when managing the smart meters. A typical DCU for such applications will have a polyphase meter that monitors the low voltage side of the distribution’s transformer. It then provides the DNO with all the relevant data that helps to improve the LV operations and maintenance.
These may have additional features specific to the operating conditions and may include smart metering management functions, PLC communications controller, network monitoring, low voltage supervisor, etc. Other than the operational features, they should have the ability to withstand the conditions in the target environment.
Feature of a typical pole-mounted Router DCU include
Router DCUs help in improving industrial automation and smart metering, thus delivering higher levels of efficiency.
One benefit of smart metering is providing the utility and consumers the ability to access daily or real-time consumption. Consequently, the utility can understand the consumption patterns and demand, hence adjust production to meet demand. It also provides consumers with real-time consumption data – hence help them adjust usage to reduce wastage and utility bills.
With the right technology, the router DTUs allows you to monitor activities and receive relevant updates about the load and other critical events. Today, the cost-effective DCU technologies are increasingly getting more adaptable to integrate with a range of input interfaces. That said, improving operational management, including remote configuration, control, configuration, updates, and other functions makes the DTU an attractive option.
Generally, the router DCUs enables the utilities and consumers to realize the full benefits of smart metering, such as
The most reliable devices combine various capabilities and have add-on options to increase flexibility and compatibility. Usually, these may provide multiple functions such as wireless connectivity, routing, and AMI functions while ensuring the security of the data in transit and storage.
M2M Router DCUs are some of the most intelligent automation devices that enable utilities to collect data from the meter and transmit it to a processing server. They employ various but compatible communications technologies to accommodate the different devices at the metering point.
The M2M Pro4 DCU is a reliable router and DCU that offers multiple functionalities while supporting a broad range of interfaces and network protocols. It allows utilities and industrial clients to read smart meters and other connected devices.
Typically, the M2M Pro4 DCU has an RS-485 serial communication port that can host up to 32 devices and an M-Bus that supports up to 30 devices. The easy-to-configure, cost-effective solution provides secure data transmission while supporting the standard network, safety, and management protocols. Also included are the wireless GSM/ GPRS/ 3G/4G/4G LTE cellular technologies to transmit the data from the water, gas, or electricity meter to a remote server.
Additionally, it has a micro-SD card for expanding storage and a micro USB configuration port. However, it also supports remote configuration and firmware updates.
The router DCU comes with two digital inputs and four Ethernet ports. During operations, the device will periodically read data from the meters. It has a 250MB inbuilt memory and an option to expand using the existing micro SD slot. Once it collects the data, it stores it in the memory and may perform some processing.
The customizable device supports a wide range of options to suit different environments. For example, utilities can purchase a device with a dual SIM option accompanied by different cellular modules depending on the available networks in the area. Other options include
The M2M Router RS485 cellular router is a compact and cost-effective connectivity solution that provides reliable cellular connectivity in various environments, including industrial and others with harsh conditions. Generally, utilities can use this IoT industrial router to support different communication technologies and applications necessary for smart metering, AMR, and AMI systems.
Some of the main features include the ability to support different port expansion options and cellular modules. As such, it prevents vendor lock-in and enables utilities to use a wide variety of technologies that work best in their target areas.
The rugged, high-quality devices are suitable for AMI and digital automation applications hence able to provide communication for smart metering and a wide range of industrial applications.
It also provides security by first encrypting the data, after which it sends over high speed and secure cellular networks.
To work with a broad set of smart metering and industrial application applications, the routers support all the standard interfaces and network protocols. It also comes with all the relevant management features hence offering greater flexibility and compatibility.
Additionally, the M2M Router RS485 has a modular design that allows integrators to add extension cards hence expand the functionalities. Other than this, users can customize the router by adding the relevant modules, protocols, interfaces, and other add-ons that address unique application requirements.
With growing pressure to conserve limited water resources, smart metering provides the utilities with the opportunity to streamline their water distribution processes through data-driven decisions. The smart water metering enables the utilities to automatically collect consumption data, eliminate manual meter reading, improve efficiency and save costs. It also provides an opportunity to detect leaks and abnormal consumption more efficiently than the manual methods.
A typical smart system relies on electronic sensors and bidirectional communication networks to remotely read, store, and transfer data for analysis and feedback. The transmitter attached to the water meter uploads the consumption data to the processing server for analysis, billing, and other processes. Usually, the automated meter reading and transmission frequency is flexible and can be daily, hourly, real-time, etc.
As more utility companies transition from the conventional manual meter reading practices, they are increasingly adopting Automated Meter Reading (AMR) and Advanced Metering Infrastructure to automate the reading and billing processes.
A smart system offers benefits, such as transparent usage and billing for the consumers, eliminating manual meter reading, improving leak detection, and lowering maintenance costs for the water company. However, utility companies need to overcome several financial and technology challenges to realize the full benefits of the digital systems.
Before we look at the challenges and how to overcome them, let us first look at how smart metering works.
Smart water metering (SWM) system relies on several technologies to automate the collection and analysis of meter data. A typical system comprises a water meter with a data logger to capture the information, a communications technology to transmit the captured data, and a server to process the information.
Usually, the smart system enables utilities or third-party companies to continuously monitor or read the water usage information in real-time or at set intervals. It also allows customers to access their consumption data from the online portals – using mobile devices and computers.
In practice, the utilities often use a variety of communication technologies to address the various transmission goals. A direct wire connection provides attractive, reliable, and high bandwidth connectivity. However, this is costly and sometimes impractical due to the high installation and maintenance costs of wiring millions of meters.
On the other hand, wireless networks are more flexible and capable of connecting more devices at lower costs and effort. Some of the popular wireless technologies for smart metering include Cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, LoRa, satellite, and more.
Communication networks differ in terms of the maximum range, transmission rate, capacity, ability to withstand inference, and other factors. For this reason, utilities may combine various wired and wireless technologies to improve coverage and quality.
Smart metering improves the operations while reducing the consumption per capita, wastage, leakages, and operational and maintenance costs. Major benefits include;
Although there are many benefits and opportunities the smart metering delivers, the adoption is very slow due to high costs, technology limitations, regulatory frameworks, and others.
Major drawbacks include;
Despite the benefits of wireless technologies, there could be a few challenges, especially with meters installed in the basements or locations with weak signals. Also, the lack of compatible devices is a challenge if existing wired or wireless infrastructure does not support the transmission technologies.
Powering the smart water metering devices is usually a challenge for locations without grid power. Utilities may rely on off-grid power sources such as solar and wind. For remote places where running cables is a challenge, utilities can install devices with long-lasting batteries. Ideally, the batteries should last several years without requiring a replacement.
While a higher data collection and transfer frequency offers more up-to-date information and greater flexibility, it has challenges such as more energy consumption, hence a shorter battery lifespan. It also increases the demand for more storage and processing capacity to handle the increased amount of data.
The transmission interval affects energy consumption and battery life. For example, at a transmission interval of 6 seconds, the battery may last for only one year. On the other hand, the battery in a system with an interval of 1-5 minutes or 15-30 minutes may last for three years or six years, respectively.
Utilities have been relying on a combination of standard and non-standard proprietary technologies to implement SWM. The incompatibility makes it a challenge to interconnect different systems or upgrade the existing networks based on proprietary technologies. There is also the risk of vendor lock-in, expensive upgrades, and lack of flexibility.
The lack of widely accepted open communications standards is another challenge. Today, there are plenty of meters that use NB-IoT, LoRa, and other standard protocols.
A typical smart metering system relies on several vendors providing different technologies. For example, one company will supply the data logging equipment, while one or more providers will offer the communication technology for data transfer. Depending on the setup, another company(s) may provide data storage and processing services.
Currently, most utility workers do not have the required skills, and many companies have to rely on equipment manufacturers and third-party service providers to maintain the various devices and networks. Unfortunately, dealing with multiple providers can be a challenge. As such, utilities should consider employing experts or training their workers to equip them with the necessary skills.
The cost of deploying smart metering systems is high and a significant barrier. Besides upgrading existing distribution networks, the system require other technologies to collect, store, transmit and process data.
To minimize costs, utility companies upgrade existing conventional meters and consider partnering and sharing communication networks with other providers such as gas and electricity distribution companies.
Electronic-based smart meters are expensive and a big challenge when replacing millions of traditional devices. Instead of installing costly digital models, utilities can add digital technologies to existing conventional meters.
The popular upgrade techniques include;
In this technique, providers attach an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) camera to the meter on a location where it captures the meter reading from the display. It then sends the data to a gateway or server through a wired or wireless network. An OCR algorithm then converts the captured meter reading images into a digital format suitable for processing. Usually, the OCR adapter and camera modules are compatible with a broad range of legacy meters and easy to mount.
A typical pulse output water meter has a normally open reed switch attached to the register’s lens. The reed switch is usually close to a magnet attached to a mechanical drum or dial inside the meter.
As a preset volume of water flows, the dial or drum will rotate and move the magnet nearer and then away from the reed, thus causing it to close and open. One cycle of closing and opening the reed switch counts as a pulse and corresponds to a certain amount of water.
A purse logger, attached to the standard meter with standard output (SO), counts the number of pulses hence the amount of water consumed. It may also store the data before transmission to a processing server. From here, a compatible communication module provides connectivity and the ability to transfer the data to a processing server. Some typical communication devices include the wire-based RS482 ModBus module or wireless modems.
There are also wireless pulse counters that work with any meter with standard output (SO). These do not need physical attachment and work remotely from a distance of several meters.
Utilities can add the RS485 Mbus or Modbus interfaces or modules to transmit consumption data from the water meter to a logging platform. The RS485 serial interface uses the Modbus protocol, which is a reliable and easy-to-use serial communication standard. In practice, a single line can serve up to 32 devices while enabling communication over long distances of up to 1.2 Km.
In addition to capturing consumption data, the Mbus and Modbus-based modules enable utilities to obtain other types of information from the water systems. Adding other relevant sensors allows the smart water systems to capture and transmit other forms of data, including water quality, temperature, contamination, etc. The protocol supports HMI, SCADA, and other popular data acquisition software. Consequently, it enables utilities to capture data from various sources and then present it in a readable format for processing and other uses.
Smart water metering deployments have been slow due to the high costs and technical limitations such as power and connectivity challenges.
As experts in smart metering, WM Systems understands all the communication, power and other challenges. The company has been working on various technologies for the past few years. Today, WM Systems is building several reliable and affordable smart water metering products that accelerate the deployment of end-to-end SWM systems at lower capital costs.
One of the popular products is the LTE Cat.M1/NB2 Data Logger for Smart Water Metering. The low-power cellular pulse signal counter, data logger, and transmitter have an inbuilt modem suitable for a broad range of locations, including those with weak signals.
This device supports automated water meter reading and remote data collection via an M-Bus or pulse output and has expansion slots to attach add-on boards for more functionality. The easy-to-install device has an internal battery that lasts for between 5-10 years and an in-built modem that supports LTE NB-IoT, NB2, Cat.M1, and LTE450 cellular networks.
Another product is the NB-IoT Data Logger for Smart Water Metering. The device is a low-power, cellular pulse counter, data logger, and transmitter for remote water reading through the pulse output. Its ultra-low-power NB-IoT network provides deep penetration through concrete walls and other objects – making it suitable for weak signal locations such as basements, cellars, etc.
The above products and others not mentioned enable the utilities and private companies to deploy reliable and cost-effective smart metering systems. Please visit the products page for more information.
Street lights are vital components of urban infrastructures. By illuminating the streets, roads, pavements, and other public spaces during the night, the lighting provides a safe and comfortable environment for both drivers and pedestrians. In particular, they enable people to see during the night hence preventing accidents, attacks, and criminal activities.
As towns continue to grow, the demand for street lighting is increasing. Consequently, this translates to more energy consumption. In most cities, public street lighting accounts for about 40% of the total energy consumption – making the cost of lighting one of the largest components of the local authorities’ budgets. Most often, sustaining the public street lighting can be a challenge, hence the need to optimize them.
One way of reducing energy consumption and light pollution is to deploy smart lighting systems. Authorities can achieve this by adding energy-efficient devices and appropriate intelligent solutions that ensure lamps will provide the right amount of illumination only when required. Such a smart light solution combines programmable controllers, switches, relays, light, and motion sensors. Generally, deploying the smart technologies provides an opportunity to save energy and money while reducing environmental degradation.
Today, most city authorities are replacing high energy consumption and traditional lamps with more efficient bulbs such as LEDs. However, the conventional controls do not provide much room for further energy savings, yet there are instances when the illumination goes into waste or not necessary. In particular, when the illumination level is constant throughout the on-state, most of the energy will go to waste.
Most authorities are adding smart technologies to control how the LEDs and other lamps work. Typical technologies include intelligent switches that remotely control an individual lamp or a group of lights. The basic operations include turning the lamps on or off and adjusting them depending on the illumination requirements, activities, and time of day.
The benefits of smart public lighting include;
A smart public lighting system comprises street lamps with sensors and connectivity solutions that enable them to communicate with each other or transmit data to and from a control platform. In a typical installation, the concentrator, located near the smart lights, manages the light-related data. It then transmits it to a remote server where operators can access and act on the information through web-based dashboards.
Some of the main parts of a smart public lighting system are;
While some modern street light systems have inbuilt options to add smart technologies, authorities must decide whether to replace older and inefficient fixtures or retrofit the existing infrastructure. A more practical approach is to repurpose the traditional, manual units by adding the communication and control systems.
The lighting controller may differ in terms of functionalities, form factor, and mounting options. A typical controller may look like a simple plastic box and comes with the cables that connect to the street lighting panel and usually connected to the lamp or power cabinet.
The installation procedure can be plug-and-play or hard-wired depending on the type of controller and lamp, mounting options, socket, compatibility, and whether adding the controller to a new or older lamp model or infrastructure.
Usually, the installation method determines if the smart light solution system supports individual lamps or segment (multiple lights) control levels. In some models, the manufacturer may install the controller inside the lamp. Alternatively, third party integrators can mount the controllers on older lamps or those without the inbuilt feature.
Besides the on-off functions, some controllers provide other smart capabilities such as dimming, scheduling, status monitoring, and failure notification.
The three main controllers based on installation are;
These are compact devices installed inside the lamp during the manufacturing process. One benefit of this controller is that it helps to maintain the aesthetics and has fewer integration issues.
The plug and play fit controllers fit in most modern lamps equipped with Zhaga or NEMA sockets. This option is the fastest to add smart capabilities to lamp models without inbuilt control features.
The pole-mounted controllers provide the most flexible option, and integrators can mount them inside or on the lighting pole. However, it is more expensive and complicated to install than the other options.
A typical unit has a weather-resistant casing and requires direct wiring and custom mounting. The direct wiring eliminates the need for specific lamps or connectors and can work with any type. Further, integrators can use it to retrofit traditional or older systems with minimal civil works and impact.
Programming options are useful in the optimization of smart street lighting systems. They provide the flexibility and customization that allows operators to configure the lights to meet various illumination demands. For example, configuring the lighting system to monitor the natural light in the morning and gradually dim down to complete shutdown, or increase brightness in the evening as darkness increases.
The programming enables smooth switching while improving energy efficiency.
Another option is to program the sensors to adjust light based on weather conditions and provide on-demand light when necessary during the night.
The programmable controllers provide various levels of dimming, which can be configured on-site or remotely. Other than adjusting brightness based on ambient light, some controllers have programmable schedule dimming features.
The light and motion sensors and intelligent controllers enable the streetlights to automatically adjust the brightness to correspond to real-time requirements or demand. For example, a motion-detecting street light automatically turns on or increase brightness upon detecting a car or pedestrian.
It then communicates the detection to the neighboring lights – enabling them to provide full light that follows the moving object. Once the person or vehicle is out of range, the lights turn off or dim depending on the programming.
Smart technologies provide options to control the individual lamps as well as a group of connected lights.
The individual lamp control relies on luminaire controllers. These have the lamp level intelligence and functionalities such as On/Off and dimming controls, while others may have additional features such as adaptive lighting.
Individual controllers may provide real-time monitoring and malfunctioning reporting and the status of the electrical parameters. Some may include light, motion, humidity, temperature, and other sensors. Since the lamp pole will have power throughout the day, authorities can enhance additional smart city applications by adding CCTV cameras, communication devices, and other sensors.
The segment level control involves creating a cluster of up to 200 street lights and connecting them to a single power control cabinet. In this configuration, a single cabinet controls all the lights in the segment. For example, it provides the on, off, and dimming functions for the lights.
Communication is a vital component of the smart street lighting infrastructure. In a typical installation, the street lights connect to the network via wireless or wired technologies. An operator can then use a laptop, computer, or tablet to access and configure the street lights, monitor, and control them according to the programmed modes. The systems use two-way communication to transmit relevant data from the street lights to the servers and control signals from the operators from the server to the lamps.
To ensure flexibility and adaptability of the smart public lighting system, providers should deploy standard technologies that are highly compatible. Factors such as lighting requirements and local area network coverage may influence the choice of communications technology. However, using an open or standard protocol enables easy upgrades and integration with compatible devices and technologies while preventing vendor lock-in.
Depending on the configuration, the authorities may use the private, public, or hybrid networks. Typical wireless technologies include;
There are several well defined and mature architectures for connecting the street lighting systems. These include;
The point to point configuration involves adding a cellular connection to each of the lighting poles. The installation is usually a fast and seamless operation that does not require gateways for pole-to-pole communication.
In this architecture, a PLC or short-range RF network connects a group of lights to a gateway and then links them to a cellular network.
The hybrid configuration combines the use of a short-range RF network that provides pole to pole communication and a two-way cellular connection that links them to cloud or on-premise servers or control platforms.
Smart technologies support controlling the lights remotely. The communication system determines whether an operator can control the lamps in real-time or not. In some installations, unstable or unreliable connectivity may limit real-time access and control. The local, simple on-off, dimming and scheduling controls are possible with low-cost connectivity solutions such as RF mesh or PLC. However, advanced smart applications such as adaptive lighting, emergency response, and other applications that require reliable, secure, and stable data transfer communication require better technologies such as cellular networks.
Today’s cellular networks provide faster, low latency connections that are reliable, scalable, highly standardized, and easy to install and maintain. Consequently, the networks provide an ideal and simple solution for connecting the street lights to the control platforms. Moreover, the 4G and 5G may support additional functions such asHD Video streaming, WIFI, air quality monitoring, smart parking, traffic management, and other applications.
Today, the availability of a wide range of intelligent wireless modules for smart systems, programmable modems, gateways, and other devices, enables providers and integrators to deploy comprehensive and flexible lighting solutions.
Typical software includes the on-off control and support for adaptive lighting functionalities like dimming or adjusting the illumination based on the time of day, available light, motion, activity, etc. Other considerations include good customization and reporting features that help operators to optimize the lighting systems.
Generally, an easy to configure, program, and use software enables quick configuration and control. However, smart operations also require a secure software and communication channel to prevent unauthorized access and control. Ideally, the software should itself be secure, rely on reliable encryption technology, and work via a VPN to protect the system and data.
Smart public lighting involves adding sensors, communication, and control technologies to the infrastructure. The technologies add intelligence-gathering capabilities and 2-way communication that allows automated and human operators to monitor and control the lights in real-time. Consequently, adding intelligence enables the city authorities to provide better lighting while reducing energy consumption, operational and maintenance costs, and environmental degradation.
Today, it is possible to upgrade or connect almost any type of streetlight to an intelligent controller. Whether HID, LED lamps on a modern or older infrastructure, there are suitable electronic controllers to support the lighting systems.
With IoT deployment on the rise, businesses and operators endeavor to manage cost, efficiency, and maximize the potential of IoT in their projects.
Industrial IoT (IIoT) projects must always consider the connectivity of their operations, which is one of the key factors in successful IoT applications. The cornerstone of reliable, fast and secure connectivity is an industrial router suited to the project’s demands and features.
Choosing the right industrial router ensures full service and at the same time yields considerable time and cost savings. However, with the abundance of industrial routers available in the market, it can often be difficult to make a choice.
It is helpful to keep in mind the distinction between industrial routers and commercial routers, which are used in less environmentally-challenging applications such as providing connectivity in shopping centers and similar uses.
Industrial routers, on the other hand, are built to provide connectivity for heavy-duty applications, such as oil fields, construction, remote monitoring (oil pumps, drilling stations, ATMs), industrial automation, charging electric vehicles, and more.
As these applications may be subject to difficult conditions – extreme temperatures, situated deep underground or surrounded by thick and dense materials – industrial routers are ruggedized and fitted with higher-quality components that are specially designed to withstand harsh environments.
They can also operate in higher/lower temperatures than commercial routers, and in a much wider range of environmental conditions. This enables them to be used underground, in remote locations, and in extreme temperatures.
If you’re looking to find the best industrial router to use for your project, these are the factors that are the most important to consider.
Environment
As previously mentioned, industrial routers can often be subject to harsh conditions – one thing to ascertain is what exactly is expected of your IoT application, where it will be operating, and what primary environmental factors will be affecting it. Some to keep in mind are freezing environments, extreme heat, dust, humidity, sand, electromagnetic interference (EMI), and dust particles.
For such applications, you will want a router that has been ruggedized to the conditions that your project will be affected by, and has a wide environmental spectrum to be able to handle these conditions while providing a reliable and sturdy connection.
Security
Security is one of the most critical features of a router, and especially when it comes to industrial operations, the value of data is not to be understated – it is absolutely essential to keep it safe and secured. As such, for your industrial IoT application, you will need advanced security protocols in place. Consider whether your router will have security features such as VPNs, firewalls, or an alert system that informs you of a breach of security. This enables the router to transfer data securely and efficiently.
Coverage range
Determine how wide the coverage range needs to be, and whether the router will be in a remote location or underground. Many industrial routers are built to be set up in difficult-to-reach locations such as underground or surrounded by material such as concrete, and still provide service fully and efficiently as any router would.
Will you be deploying routers in a rural or remote area? Different routers have different coverage ranges depending on the spectrum band that they operate in. Perhaps your project requires a relatively unused spectrum band with minimal traffic, or it could get by fine using mobile networks. Either way, the spectrum band the router operates on affects its coverage range – so make sure you keep this in mind when figuring out which router to buy.
Deployment
How many locations will you be installing the router in? This is essential in determining the cost of the whole project and its long-term feasibility. The wider the scale of deployment, the cheaper your router needs to be. Also, keep in mind the time-frame and expected completion – if you have a short time to get things done, you want a smooth rollout period with few hang-ups. You can ensure ease of deployment by working out all the details in advance, such as:
Form factor
The router should be compact and easily mountable for full convenience and ease of deployment. Many operations can be space-critical, and so you want to ensure that your router is not too big or wide to fit into the area you are planning to put it into.
Reliability and stability of service
Reliability can make or break your IoT application. Whether your project involves the transfer of large amounts of data with high speed, or short amounts of data over a longer period of time, you need to have a reliable connection.
Consider investing in a router that supports failsafes to protect users from connectivity issues. Another option is a router that can have multiple SIMs and is network redundant, meaning it supports many different types of networks.
Lack of reliability can be costly and result in loss of data as well as potential customers. That is why it’s imperative to invest in a router with features to protect against connection failures.
Cost
If a router has a low cost upfront but is expensive to maintain, as opposed to an initial high-cost that would end up being relatively cheap to maintain – it’s always better to go for the latter. In the end, you will need to frequently maintain your router, but an initial investment happens only once – and you have to make it count.
Technical support, servicing and maintenance
At some point or another, everyone runs into a bump with tech. As such, you have to make sure that the company you are buying from offers continued technical support and can maintain your router throughout its lifetime.
Software
With buying a router, one has to not only consider its features, but also its operating system (OS) and the router’s respective software. A router’s effectiveness is wholly dependent on its OS and accompanying software – even if it has the best features, in the end its connectivity relies on the software.
With operating systems, you can go for a tried and true option like Linux which has long been used successfully in this field.
Compatibility with other hardware/system agnosticism
Whether your router is system agnostic (can support any type of equipment or operating system) is another factor that affects performance. Compatibility can make your router perform better, reduce costs, streamline management and more.
Although there are many kinds of industrial routers, it becomes clear which one to choose when you evaluate what factors are relevant to your project.
The integration of new technological features is changing the dynamics of business operations and offering new values to the customers. The same phenomena is also unfolding in the power utilities market place; with the maturing of the concept of smart grids capable of two-way communications. During the recent past, several utilities have adopted the Advanced Metering Infrastructure in order to increase the efficiency of the utility systems.
AMI – A Brief Explanation
Advanced Metering Infrastructure combines smart meters, data management systems, and communications networks, enabling two-way communications between customers and utilities. The system measures, collects, as well as analyzes energy usage, and further communicates with measuring devices, like electricity meters, heat meters, gas meters and water meters. There is an abrupt shift in the advanced metering infrastructure system from previously used methods for a meter reading.
The conventional method of meter reading uses AMR technology that allows reading of utility meters by walking near the meters and using handheld devices for recording consumption data. Certain issues like data quality, manual transferring of data, and or missed reading affect the billing accuracy of such a system.
The integrated system of AMI comes with a number of smart features that were not available earlier in the older systems. A few crucial features like remote and automatic measurement of utility usage, connecting and disconnecting service, detection of tampering, monitoring voltage, etc., make such a system very useful. AMI systems can also manage energy cost and consumption and can help in reducing peak demand.
Components of AMI
The most fundamental layer of a smart grid system is AMI integrated into several technologies, centered around a lot of networks. There are a few major components that include the smart meter, collector, as well as a server system for connecting to a number of systems. The data is collected and communicated to Head-End Systems for sending to MDMS for managing, validating, and cleansing before making the data available for use to the utility service providers.
The vital components of the AMI system are as follows:
Most Important Features of AMI System
Smart meters are able to disconnect consumers remotely if there is an instance of default payments, which is a great benefit for businesses. For consumers, smart meters can help to optimize water metering, as well as other utilities like electricity metering, gas metering, etc. Such optimization possibilities help consumers optimize energy usage and reduce energy expenses.
A few important functionalities that smart meters provide generally are:
Moreover, AMI is capable of representing consumer consumption data as well as the status of the grid. AMI ensures the presentation of authentic data and precision in communicating with the intended devices. Besides this, AMI can support future expansion possibilities and can host the latest facilities that are beyond the requirements of AMI.
The core module among all such systems is MDMS that has the core responsibility of performing validation, estimation, as well as editing AMI data. Such actions ensure the flow of accurate information for the modules requesting more information for further application. The functionalities and features for MDMS may vary from a vendor to another vendor, and among all requirements, the application of the data topics remain most important.
Key Considerations Utilities Need to Make While Buying an AMI solution
AMI infrastructure does not operate based on a single technology, but it integrates several technologies. Thus, the technical expertise, time for deployment, resources, monitoring, and managing the AMI system is complex as well as demanding. A few key considerations that utilities should consider while selecting an AMI service provider are as follows:
Top EMI suppliers
The increasing demand for smart water, gas, and electricity meters are fueling the growth of the Advanced Meter Infrastructure market. A few key players that are contributing to the supply of next-generation AMI are as under.
Intelligent smart grid utilizing AMI based smart meter is replacing the conventional grid and AMR system rapidly. The Advanced Metering Infrastructure benefits both utility companies and consumers to gain firsthand information and to optimize performance as well as reducing cost. The improved two-way communication system, control schemes, data analysis, smart meters, networking, and many more, ensure stability and better quality of power triggering the growth of AMI.
Smart water solutions are enhancing the efficiency of utilities operations all over the world. Technologies such as smart water metering provide detailed, up-to-date and relevant analytics on water consumption for both the consumer and the utility provider. Unlike standard flow meters, smart water meters measure and monitor near real-time consumption patterns. This helps utilities regulate water leakages and faults, provide accurate billing, and improve engagement with customers.
However, the nature of smart meters requires specialized communications solutions. This need comes at a time when the water industry faces challenges both on a regional and global scale. Scarcity of water due to climate change, compounded by the effects of urbanization and the necessity of implementing new technologies while dealing with cost – these are concerns for any utilities provider.
At the same time, network operators are developing tailored solutions to accommodate the needs of the water industry. For example, LPWA (low-power wide-area) networks, also known as IoT networks, are built to support IoT devices that aid in smart metering. IoT networks are secure, scalable, and resilient. These networks allow flexible installation and placement of water meters while being suited for sensors and such similar devices to operate and communicate efficiently.
There are different network protocols available for smart water metering, depending on what the needs of your operation are. Factors to consider are the size of your operation, coverage, budget, quality of service, vendor-independency, security, if it will operate on a licensed or unlicensed band, battery life, and whether you will build the network or use a ready-made solution. The main protocols used in smart water metering at the moment are wM-Bus, LoRa, Sigfox, and the 3GPP technologies NB-IoT and eMTC.
wM-Bus, also known as wireless M-Bus, is an open standard protocol used for wireless meter readings and communication. It operates on unlicensed bands, and its most common frequencies vary in different parts of the world. It offers a longer range with a smaller software stack.
wM-Bus allows to build your own private network, which gives you full control to match features to your meter reading needs. However, the feasability of using this protocol depends on how large your supply area is and how it is spread out. wM-Bus networks need more infrastructure for wider coverage. Therefore, they are not ideal for rural or sparesly populated areas where you may want to install smart water meters.
LoRa (low range), a LPWA protocol, uses unlicensed frequencies available on the global spectrum. It offers wider coverage for lower cost. It does not support near-real time decision making as it can have a latency of 10s, and so should not be the main option when working with latency-critical applications. LoRa works by transferring packets of data through many end-points to a gateway. As such, it is mostly suitable for uplink-heavy applications.
With Sigfox, you don’t have to install and operate your own network. It has a longer range than wM-Bus. However, this is accompanied by higher power consumption, As opposed to wM-Bus, if you opt for Sigfox, you do not own the network. This means you would need to share your bandwidth with other devices that may use the Sigfox network, – similarly to LoRa, which also operates on unlicensed bands. As such, your network could experience co-channel interference due to limited downlink capabilities, and this can impede the efficiency of smart meter readings.
eMTC (enhanced machine-type communications), also known as LTE Cat M1, is a 3GPP technology that offers higher bandwidth for data handling, which makes it useful for control applications and industrial situations. Its sensors provide a battery life of up to 10 years which may entail replacements if they will be subject to heavy use, and could cost more in the long run.
NB-IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things), also known as cellular IoT, is a protocol based on 4G LTE technology. It operates on a licensed spectrum, which allows better quality of service and low interference. NB-IoT was developed to accommodate the features of M2M applications – good coverage and minimal data amounts. It uses an existing infrastructure based on the LTE network, thereby saving the time and money needed to undertake network construction.
Due to its low power consumption, it delivers a battery life of 10+ years. It has a range of 164 dB3 (underground) which allows it to penetrate concrete and reach underground areas. This is also aided by the fact that there is little to no interference from other devices on the network, hence allowing strong coverage even in hard-to-reach locations. It uses GPS for geolocation, and so is suited to urban areas.
NB-IoT is most suitable for monthly data billing, and provides accurate analytics on data. In fact, tests show that a water meter using NB-IoT can send up to 500 messages a day alongside a 20dB enhancement in coverage connecting 100% of meters, no matter their location.
Furthermore, NB-IoT supports near real time decision making as its latency is less than 10 seconds. It can also be used for control of end-devices via two-way communication, which is often a necessary feature in smart metering. As such, it has a meter reading success rate of over 99%.
Compared to other solutions, using NB-IoT requires no starting investment in the communication infrastructure as it is already present.
NB-IoT is purported to soon accommodate a large range of devices, platforms and systems, enabling flexibility and vendor-independency. It can be smoothly upgraded to 5G as it is constantly being developed and improved by industry experts. This will ensure modernity and easy transition over a long period of time.
Overall, NB-IoT offers the best communication solution for smart water meters. Taking into account latency, flexibility, coverage, battery life, and long-term cost, NB-IoT is the most suited for the application of smart water meters, and can help you provide services according to the best of what communications has to offer. With these features, an NB-IoT network can ensure high billing accuracy, near real-time consumption data and analytics, and provide an opportunity for community campaigns and customer engagement.
As wireless technologies advance, most cellular network operators are increasingly moving towards higher frequencies and phasing out the 450 MHz spectrum. Utilities and other companies can now use the freed frequency band to build private networks that would provide them with cost-effective and reliable connectivity.
By moving to their dedicated communication networks, water, gas, and electric utilities will have more control in addition to offloading their traffic from already congested public networks.
The 450 MHz frequency provides various benefits to the utilities and especially in supporting the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). Consequently, utilities can use the dedicated wireless LTE networks to connect smart meters, sensors, IoT devices, and other assets to their data centers.
In addition to the better coverage, the private 450 LTE is more stable and secure, hence ensuring reliable and better connectivity. Generally, a private network provides a higher level of security, and this reduces the risks of attacks and compromises on the AMI, utilities, and consumer’s physical assets and data.
Over the recent past, utilities have been undergoing a digital transformation as providers seek ways to improve efficiency, reliability, and availability. Towards this, the water, gas, and electricity utilities are increasingly replacing their manual systems with smart metering and monitoring solutions. The process has been a gradual process with successes and various challenges, such as high costs and technology limitations.
Smart metering requires communication technologies that allow utilities to collect real-time consumption and quality data from the consumer location, and then send this information to the utilities data management systems for analysis. Using the analysis, utility operators can determine the current usage of resources such as electricity, water, or gas. Such insights allow them to better manage and balance the supply and demand in addition to addressing quality issues.
To deploy such systems, the utilities require reliable and cost-effective communication networks to connect all the smart meters to central control centers. For some time, the utilities have been using fiber optic cables, electric power lines, microwaves, public networks, and other LAN and WAN technologies for their communications needs. Unfortunately, the traditional physical connections may be impractical and uneconomical when there are millions of meters as well as consumers and facilities in remote and rural areas.
Besides high costs, some of these technologies, such as transmission power lines, are prone to noise and instabilities. Additionally, communication over power lines works for electrical systems but not for the water and gas networks.
To overcome these limitations, technology providers have tried different solutions to address the unique needs of smart metering. Although there are many solutions, the Advanced Metering Infrastructure offers one of the most promising connectivity.
Today, most utility companies are using AMI, which is an integrated infrastructure comprising of smart meters, communication networks, as well as data collection, analysis, and management solutions.
AMI provides two-way communication between the utility companies and the consumers and applies to the electricity, water, and gas industries. Most of the AMI deployments rely on a combination of private and public networks and may include Home area networks (HANs), Local Area Networks (LANs), and Wide Area Networks (WANs).
Components of an AMI:
The AMI has benefits such as enabling accurate remote meter reading, load profiling, identifying network problems, assisting in energy audits, and more. Other than consumption, the AMI and smart metering enables the utilities to monitor and manage other parameters, including the voltage, frequency, power factor, and other power quality issues.
However, to deliver these services effectively, the AMI requires a stable, reliable, and secure communications network. In practice, AMI operates on multiple physical and wireless communication networks. However, the LTE 450 private network can replace most of these and consolidate all the utility applications into a single communication network. Consequently, this improves the reliability and availability while reducing the complexity, instabilities, and other challenges of using multiple communication networks.
Generally, LTE networks can run on both low and higher frequencies, including the GHz range. However, to support utility, M2M, IoT, and other automation applications, the 450 MHz band provides several benefits than the higher frequencies and is, therefore, more ideal for AMI and smart metering.
A private LTE 450 MHz is a dedicated wireless communications technology operating on the 450 MHz spectrum and typically isolated from the public networks. Most often, private LTE has a design and flexibility to support organizations seeking specific connectivity solutions that public networks do not offer.
Utilities can use the private LTE network to interconnect a large number of offices, consumers, and facilities located in different locations. In particular, the 450 LTE is more attractive than other frequencies due to its availability and superior characteristics. These make it ideal for current and future wireless communication needs for AMI, IoT and M2M, and other technologies.
The dedicated cellular network provides more control, is more flexible, and, since it follows a global standard, is future proof. Most importantly, the stable, reliable, and secure communications enable utilities to adequately address their unique connectivity needs much better than the public networks.
The 450 MHz private network provides a combination of high security, reliability, resiliency in addition to lower deployment and operational costs. Additionally, utilities can use the private cellular network for almost all end-to-end connectivity instead of using multiple communication networks.
The main LTE 450 network benefits include;
The 450 MHz spectrum has superior propagation characteristics that result in larger network coverage areas and deep penetration within buildings. By covering a large area per cell, the network requires a smaller number of towers, which means lower deployment, operational and maintenance costs. Similarly, the superior penetration properties enable it to easily pass through walls and obstacles, with minimal signal loss.
As such, it requires less costly equipment at the consumer endpoints while providing a reliable network to even connect and capture information from meters and sensors in hard-to-reach locations such as basements.
Further, the excellent signal penetration results in lower energy consumption, hence a benefit for components such as battery-operated meters and IoT sensors such as those used in water and gas metering systems.
A wireless network covering a large area translates to a low number of base stations or radio sites, which reduces the deployment cost as well as the running and maintenance expenses. Additionally, with a small number of stations, operators can add more redundancy equipment such as power modules and backup systems – further increasing resilience, reliability, and availability.
The utilities have more control over their private network, and they do not have to depend on third-party providers for most all their communications needs. Usually, relying on mobile operators to connect remote locations has limitations since the cellular companies may deem them unprofitable.
Utilities can also maintain, upgrade the network equipment, including the LTE modems, LTE routers, LTE cells, and other components any time, and when it makes economic sense and with little disruptions. Additionally, they can use their internal technology solutions to enhance the already strong LTE security. Ideally, a private network allows the utilities to isolate their communication systems from the internet and public networks, in addition to providing them with more control.
A private LTE 450 MHz provides the utility with a single network that supports all their applications and needs. Ideally, an LTE should provide utilities with a secure, reliable, and flexible wireless network at a low total cost of ownership. By using a single 450 LTE network, utilities can lower their communications costs while reducing the complexities and reliability issues.
An LTE 450MHz private network provides a more secure and reliable technology for the utilities systems and data. The enhanced, inbuilt security prevents a wide range of attacks that would otherwise lead to data manipulation, theft, and service disruptions.
Today, the smart grid is more vulnerable to cyber-attacks due to the many components and nodes, including renewable energy, smart homes, and others that increase the complexity and attack surface. Fortunately, the private cellular network has all the capabilities to provide secure communication and shield the utility systems and operations from cyber-attacks.
The adoption and deployment of the private LTE 450 network will continue to grow as more companies seek dedicated, reliable, and secure connectivity solutions. Today, as more operators phase out the spectrum, the frequency band will become more readily available for private use.
The wide adoption of the private network means that most utilities and other industries will offload the traffic from the congested public networks.
Private LTE 450 networks will grow significantly as utilities and other industries continue to digitize their operations and getting smarter. Other markets include the Industrial IoT, Industry 4.0, Smart factories, and other facilities that rely on wireless networks.
Other than supporting the AMI, M2M, IoT, and related applications, the LTE 450 private network will continue to grow and cover more industries. As this happens, there is a lot of potential for device manufacturers and service providers such as those for LTE 450 routers, 450 LTE modems, and other LTE devices and support systems.
Theodore Paraskevakos, developed the first remote monitoring system that used digital transmission lines as a spin-off from the telephone line identification system (Caller ID). Ever since communications was the most critical technological aspect in smart metering. Each meter is expected to send data in a reliable and secure way to a central server. Taking into consideration the different environments where the meters are located, this is obviously no easy task.
Today with the abundance of different communication networks it is even harder. No single solution proved to be optimal so far.. most companies design a system that uses the combination of multiple communication technologies to achieve their goals.
Recently, we see a trend among smart metering solutions across the United States and Europe, the increasing usage of cellular LTE technology.
Also known as part of a broader cellular Internet of Things (IoT) spectrum, technologies such as NB-IoT and LTE-M offer a number of advantages for projects involving smart meters:
All these benefits can be observed almost immediately upon switching to the latest cellular networks designed for specific use cases. So why aren’t more utilities switching to these technologies?The answer is in the smart grid.
With a $7.9 billion total investment by 2016, the United States was the first country to heavily invest in the deployment of Advanced Metering Infrastructure, or AMI in short.
The goal was to optimize antiquated grids by allowing end-to-end digital communication between utilities and each individual meter in an attempt to monitor the whole grid.
While smart grids aren’t composed of meters only (think about renewable energy, charging stations, real-time demand response, etc.), they are keystones of a truly connected grid.
The benefits of smart meters for utilities have been long discussed:
But with that, there’s also a question of how.
How do you achieve these benefits and what’s the gist of a “smart” grid? The answer lies in a secure and flexible two-way communications infrastructure built on top of existing assets.
Smart metering is all about communications. Let’s take a brief look into the evolution of various communication technologies used in smart metering and the different types available.
These are categorized according to the transmission medium used, effectively dividing them into wired and wireless technologies. In the beginning, tThe two most popular technologies for advanced metering infrastructures were “traditional” options are:
In recent years though, a lot of attention shifted to Low-Power Wide Area Networking (LPWAN), of which cellular IoT technologies are a part. Here’s a table showing the most popular:
The LPWAN spectrum of connectivity technologies is one that’s grown tremendously over the past few years and it promises incredible flexibility at extremely low prices.
When a few years ago theWith the open source LoRaWAN technology seemed to takeing the lead, standards organization 3GPP decided it was time to innovate with two new technologies: NB-IoT and LTE-M.
Let’s take a look at both sides of the equation.
We’ve briefly talked about the three non-cellular technologies used as part of the smart grid. Now, it’s time to compare them and understand their pros and cons:
PLC takes advantage of existing power-line installations in communication efforts. This provides the benefit of utilizing current widespread infrastructure without laying dedicated cables. Getting PLC modules installed into meters is fairly straightforward, making the technology the most popular among smart metering solutions. However, PLC is not perfect.
Some of the disadvantages of PLC are:
Since the infrastructure was built primarily with delivery of electricity in mind, these cons can be mitigated by mixing PLC with a second technology known as Radio Frequency Mesh (further explored in the “wireless technologies” section down below).
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) is a communication technology that uses traditional telephone lines to transmit data. It’s fairly reliable and low-cost since the infrastructure already exists in most cases. Like many communication technologies, the key disadvantage lies in the distance between the consumer and the company. The longer the distance, the lower the throughput.
This isn’t a particularly popular option for smart metering due to high implementation costs but it’s still worth a mention for use cases where high data transmission rates are a requirement. Networks made of 100% fiber optic cables are still being deployed across various regions in the United States, Europe, and other parts of the world making the costs often prohibitive.
In conjunction, these three technologies already form a strong baseline to work with. But in the grand scheme of things, adding wireless as a component has already proven beneficial.
Wired technologies don’t always match business requirements in today’s environment. That’s why wireless technologies applied to smart metering started evolving and complementing the original telecommunications infrastructure. One of the most notable examples is RF Mesh (explained below) which perfectly complements PLC for better service to the consumer.
Unlike PLC, this technology enables wireless communication and is a core function of Automatic Meter Reading (AMR). This is mainly used as a way to measure power consumption and collect data from the energy consumer. Paired with PLC, it provides better accuracy and coverage and, just like PLC, it requires modules that should be installed onto the meters.
The pros and cons of RF Mesh are:
PROS
CONS
Due to their differences, integrating PLC as the backbone of the infrastructure and RF Mesh as a technology enabler is a great way to provide a more reliable and accurate experience.
Similar to RF Mesh but working in a slightly different way, Zigbee can also be used to build a mesh network used primarily to connect smart meters with data concentrators rather than smart meters with control centres (dashboards). Its low implementation costs paired with a low complexity make it an interesting solution for low-power smart metering.
While flexible in nature, Zigbee has the following disadvantages:
Choosing Zigbee over RF Mesh highly depends on the use case. The former is a preferred option for lighter use cases in the consumer market such as home automation or smart lighting while RF Mesh is a more reliable alternative for industrial applications.
WiMax is a wireless communication standard that is less known in the metering space (and outright ignored by many companies due to heavily shared bandwidth among users) but which has some interesting propositions. With a data rate of up to 75Mbps, it’s mostly used as an alternative technology for delivering fixed wireless broadband access.
Using wireless communications in conjunction with traditional wired technologies provides a stronger service by providing a fallback to rely on in case the former doesn’t perform.
While cellular IoT is now part of the wider LPWAN family, there was a time (not so long ago) when low-power cellular connectivity wasn’t a thing. This means that many utilities started experimenting with new innovative technologies to connect the smart meter directly to their dashboards. Three technologies in particular came through as a result of this.
Finally, LoRaWAN is a newcomer in the smart metering world and, therefore, it is also not as common as other solutions. While PLC and RF Mesh have been extensively tested and used for smart metering purposes (in part thanks to the AMI efforts in the United States), LoRaWAN is still relatively new and there are only a few examples we can work with.
Still, LoRaWAN is a promising technology that may introduce benefits such as:
On top of this, the LoRa alliance promises to deliver continuous support and expansion, with new devices and partnerships created every other week. And while not particularly used in smart metering, LoRa is the protocol of choice for local IoT networks across the globe.
Similar to how cellular networks operate, SigFox is more catered towards offering services to individual devices rather than multiple at a time. With an Ultra Narrowband (UNB) connection and a reliable architecture, SigFox’s noise effect is very low, allowing the system to retrieve very weak signals from various types of devices. The protocol uses the 868 MHz band.
With these two technologies giving us a glimpse into the future of connectivity all the way down to the meter, there remains one technology to “rule them all”: low-power cellular connectivity.
Cellular connectivity has been used across the world for many different use cases, not just mobile phone communications. This was in the 2G/3G era and it’s not a new concept.
However, it’s the latest advancements in LTE technology that gave this market sector its denomination of cellular IoT as it’s aimed specifically at low-power devices like meters.
These technologies are constantly evolving, with the promise of even faster connectivity thanks to an upcoming 5G “New Radio” (NR) standard scheduled for release in 2022:
But why the sudden run for innovation when 2G/3G networks were employed for years? As with most things in business, market demand and competition drove this effort forward.
With more people demanding low-power connectivity to bring their devices together while freely moving around and the current networks being inadequate, cellular IoT became a no-brainer.
All major network providers in the US and around the world announced that they are beginning the process to shut down parts of their 2G/3G networks or even the entire service lines.
This is due to clear benefits provided by stable 4G LTE technology which has spread across the world rapidly. This is a big alarm bell for most utilities employing the networks.
What should they do now?
The options usually narrow down to three things:
In most cases, the first option will be the most popular due to lower costs. This is because dealing with such a large infrastructure renovation is time-consuming and expensive.
Some utilities who can afford to do so will opt for a completely new infrastructure based on the latest technologies, including smart meters that have built-in LTE modems.
The last and least popular option is switching to an alternative form of communication. This is by far the hardest to pull off and it involves a lot of risk in the implementation stage.
Connecting smart meters to a cellular network was never the norm. Utilities work with concentrators to monitor meters in specific Neighborhood Area Networks (NANs).
With cellular IoT, carriers have now introduced more attractive rate plans due to the increased efficiencies of these new technologies, making them more affordable and reliable.
Cellular IoT offers a number of advantages for smart metering:
All these benefits combined make a pretty compelling argument where cellular IoT is poised to become one of the most relevant innovations for energy and related industries.
Cellular technologies are becoming increasingly important in smart metering deployments due to the enhancements that they can provide to existing smart grid efforts.
Most 2G/3G networks employed in smart metering are part of the Global System for Mobile Communications (or GSM), using General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) for its low costs.
Meter devices themselves aren’t traditionally connected to cellular networks though; NAN data is usually aggregated and passes through concentrators or industrial sites.
With narrowband IoT coming into play, providing cellular connectivity all the way down to the meter is now feasible and, in many cases, beneficial to utilities.
Here are two of popular options for smart metering:
1. Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) for Smart Metering
Recognizing the threat presented by the LoRa technology developed by Semtech, 3GPP quickly developed a real competitor, the so-called NB-IoT (formally Cat-NB1/NB2).
As part of the LPWAN family of technologies, NB-IoT is a direct competitor of LoRa and, unlike the latter, it offers widespread cellular connectivity thanks to its partner networks.
This technology is beneficial to utilities on all aspects:
Adding NB-IoT to an existing PLC/RF Mesh infrastructure means reaching meters in places that would not be reachable otherwise. This proves extremely beneficial for smart metering:
Just like other technologies in this space, NB-IoT also has its own disadvantages, but they’re very specific when it comes to smart metering and they should be thoughtfully considered.
For example, ICG metering requires higher data throughput than what NB-IoT can provide, and the same goes with grid-load balancing which requires near real-time latency.
2. LTE for Machine Type Communication (LTE-M)
This technology is not as popular as NB-IoT for smart metering due to higher energy consumption. Data throughput and latency are both significantly enhanced here.
While LTE-M can provide a similar experience at higher performance rates, it is not currently the technology of choice for smart metering. Utilities should run their own tests in this case.
Together, NB-IoT and LTE-M are the two most promising technologies in cellular IoT. With smart metering benefitting from NB-IoT most, LTE-M may become a worthy contender in the future.
The benefits of LTE connectivity for smart metering are clear, but how do you go about embedding it into your smart metering infrastructure? This is where modems come in.
Most meters connected to the grid via cellular networks will require a modem, an electronic device that enables exchange of data between two computers.
While traditional modems are well-known and used in almost every household, smart metering should be smaller, easy to install onto the meter, low cost and dependable.
Jumping from a 2G/3G modem to an LTE modem is already a huge jump, but some meters won’t have the same upgrade capability as others.
Modems are essentially small computers equipped with the necessary chips and modules to hook your meter to the cellular network. To do so, the meter requires a few things:
Buying new meters with built-in modems is smart in certain cases (that is, when your meter is so old that it doesn’t match any of the three basic requirements highlighted above).
However, most meters can be modified in accordance to regulations and accommodate the needs of an LTE connection only if the infrastructure already covers the installation area.
While electricity meters often come with a connection port, gas and water meters aren’t usually equipped with this hardware and the infrastructure may not comply with the requirements.
The installation process depends on the device manufacturer. While some modems are plug-and-play, others may require some custom work for a proper upgrade.
There are different types of LTE modems available for smart metering purposes and they’re divided into categories based on the original device manufacturer.
Most electricity meters are from well-known brands such as Honeywell (Elster), Landis+Gyr, and Itron. Modems will usually have similar features for each device manufacturer.
A few examples from our product lineup are:
Made specifically with Landis+Gyr E350/E450 meters in mind, the WM-E1SL, the modem has RS232 and RS485 (2- or 4-wire) connection capabilities. The modem forms part of the AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) of the utility company and is therefore highly adaptable to use cases where cellular connectivity is a requirement.
Similarly to our first modem, the WM-ES2 also features RS232 and RS485 connection capabilities but for the Itron ACE6000, ACE8000, and ACE SL7000 meters. Just like the first one, this modem can be assembled into the meter’s enclosure and fastened securely for an all-in-one solution providing LTE connectivity.
Just like the two modems highlighted above, the WM-E3S offers similar features adapted to Honeywell AS220, AS230, AS300 and other electricity meters from the same manufacturer. All modems come with configurations to update the firmware remotely and custom software that allows for device settings to be manipulated independently.
Examples like these should help you pinpoint an ideal solution for existing smart meters in your network. You can also browse our library of smart metering modems for more information.
There are two main drivers for smart grid and metering adoption: high-level national strategies (such as AMI in the United States) and the overall boom of the IoT economy.
Smart metering is highly dependent on grid innovation. Based on this fact and the data from Mordor Intelligence, the smart meter market was valued at $123M in 2019.
But how does cellular connectivity fit into the picture?
Let’s go through both pieces of data.
There are many projects involving smart grid and meter connectivity running in 2020. Based on a Research & Markets report, we know that smart grids are currently valued at ~$1.5B.
Growing investment in smart grid projects is key to the success of not only smart metering, but also cellular connectivity as a means to collect data within this niche.
A few running projects include:
This shows us that PLC is the technology of choice in the smart metering market today and it also proves that wireless communications are used to reinforce and amplify this backbone, with PLC acting as a strong fallback solution. So, how is cellular trending in all of this?
Growth in low-power cellular connectivity is massive across IoT use cases but can we say the same about smart metering applications? Let’s take a look at a few statistics:
If we take a further look at Google Trends data, we see the following:
With PLC and RF Mesh following a similar trend, NB-IoT already has stronger roots in user searches. This data doesn’t necessarily reflect market adoption trends but it does give us an insight into which technologies are most searched (and thus more popular).
Thanks to a mix of wired and wireless communication technologies, utility companies now have a wide variety of options to choose from and test at different price points.
The game changer? Cellular connectivity. Not only is it cheaper than most wired solutions but it can also outperform wireless smart metering methods such as RF Mesh or LoRaWAN.
In a constantly evolving smart grid environment, adapting to change requires tackling innovation head first. That’s where technologies like NB-IoT come into play.
With cheaper costs compared to most other technologies on the market and a wide communications network at your disposal, the benefits of this evolution are clear.
Before you choose a technology to work with, consider three things:
With NB-IoT taking the lead in the cellular game, we highly recommend testing it on a few smart meters to see the benefits firsthand before investing on your entire infrastructure.
And if you’re switching from a 2G network to a 4G network, check out our range of retrofit devices. These can all be implemented in your existing meters with little effort.
The current rise in cellular IoT is an amazing opportunity for utility companies looking to gain a competitive advantage so take your shot now and begin testing!
Our company is looking for a Sales Support Engineer / Test Expert who is responsible for actively driving and managing the technical part of a Sales Engagement.
Responsibilities:
• Work closely with the sales team on account management
• Ensuring the success of customer POC / Pilots
• Providing online help for customers, product support
• Developing and delivering company/product presentations and demostrations
• Building demonstration environments for exhibitions (of connecting products)
• Be the technical product expert for customers and stay up-to-date on the IoT Product
• Work with Product Management and Engineering to provide feedback from the field
• Functional and integration testing of our developments (hw, sw)
• Write internal and external technical collateral, like typical deployment and use cases
Preferred Qualifications:
• BS in Computer Science, Engineering or equivalent experience in software and/or a technologically relevant field
• 3+ years experience in technical customer suppor or product development
• Work experiece industrial environment
• Prior experience in a fast-growing SMI environment
• Hands-on administration and troubleshooting experience with comminication devices (wireless routers, modems)
• GSM/GPRS/4G/LTE networking skills and experience
• Fluent experience in Linux kernel and embedded systems (such as Linux CLI, OpenWrt)
• IP networking skills (TCP/IP, UDP protocols, IP route, firewall)
• Advanced Router configuration skills (Cisco, IPSec, OpenVPN, tunelling)
• Knowledge of scripting languages (bash, phyton or similar)
• Pre-sales support or development experience in the industrial IoT industry
• Standalone problem solving ability, responsibility, reliability
• Good communication and collaborative skills, confident and excellent use of English language
• Other european language is an advantage (Serb, German, French)
What we offer:
• Competitive income
• Contiuously growing international company
• Exciting tasks, possibility of self-developing
• Pleasant working environment, young team
Send your CV, introduction to the intersales@wmsystems.hu email address.
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