A Comparative Guide on Water Submetering Technology
Cost management, expense recovery and water conservation are crucial aspects of property management. One effective method to achieve these goals is through water submetering. This guide explores various water submetering technologies, their benefits, and how to choose the right one for your property.
Understanding Water Submetering
Water submetering involves installing individual meters for each unit within a property, allowing for precise measurement of water usage. This system offers several benefits:
- Expense management and recovery: Water submetering enable property owners to more effectively recover costs, which leads to improved net operating income (NOI) and higher property values.
- Accurate billing based on actual usage: Each unit is billed according to the water actually consumed, which is fairer compared to splitting water costs evenly or by square footage.
- Encourages water conservation: When residents are directly responsible for their water usage costs, they are more likely to adopt water-saving habits.
- Helps detect leaks and reduce water waste: Submetering can quickly identify unusual water usage patterns, indicating potential leaks or inefficiencies to address.
By providing detailed information on water usage, property owners can implement more effective water management strategies. This can lead to substantial savings on water bills and contribute to overall sustainability efforts.
Types of Water Submetering Technologies
There are several water submetering technologies available, each with its unique features and advantages.
Mechanical (In-line) Water Meters
Mechanical water meters are the traditional type installed ‘in-line’ with the water. They operate through a mechanical process where the flow of water turns a small turbine or piston.
Advantages:
- Established: Mechanical meters are the traditional solution for water submetering making them the most familiar and accessible option historically.
- Simple design: The low technology design makes these meters easy to read physically and install if you have access to plumbing resources.
- Widely used: Due to their long-standing presence in the market, they are a well-understood technology with many available support resources.
Disadvantages:
- Accuracy issues in some use-cases: Given wear, mechanical meters degrade over time and typically under-register usage. Other use cases with frequent on/off events, often seen in leaking toilets, may create inaccuracies given the inertia of the mechanism.
- Installation: Meters work in-line with the water and so require plumbing work that is both costly and risky, as the old existing pipes may be prone to damage. Many states require certified plumbers to do this work and the water must be shut off during installation, which can add inconvenience to residents. In addition, access to pipes my be limited or in many situations not feasible for installation of an in-line meter.
- Prone to wear and tear: Moving parts can wear out over time, especially in high-use environments, necessitating regular maintenance.
- Freezing Temperatures: Since they interface directly with the water, mechanical meters often incur damage when temperatures drop and water freezes.
- Regular maintenance required: To maintain accuracy and functionality, mechanical meters often need periodic servicing.
Ultrasonic (In-line) Water Meters
Ultrasonic water meters use sound waves to measure the velocity of water flowing through the pipe. Some are designed to be installed in-line and so have many of the same advantages and disadvantages of mechanical in-line meters. This advanced technology offers several benefits.
Advantages:
- Highly accurate: Ultrasonic meters provide precise measurements across various flow rates, including very low flows.
- No moving parts: The lack of moving components reduces the likelihood of wear and tear, extending the meter’s lifespan.
- Low maintenance: These meters require less frequent maintenance with fewer parts to break down.
Disadvantages:
- More expensive: The advanced technology and materials used in ultrasonic meters may make them more costly upfront compared to mechanical meters.
- Installation: Like their mechanical brethren, in-line Ultrasonic meters require plumbing and pipe-cutting for installation, which adds risk and cost.
- Maintenance and Damage from Freezing: Since meters are installed in-line with the water and are integral to the pipe, they are susceptible to freezing temperatures and ensuing damage.
Ultrasonic Clamp-On Water Meters
These new meter types use similar technology as in-line ultrasonic water meters, however, they clamp on to the outside of the existing pipes sending sound waves through the pipe to measure the velocity of water flow. These advanced solutions have all the benefits of in-line ultrasonic water meters with a number of additional benefits as compared to other water metering technologies.
Advantages:
- Simple Installation: Meters are designed to clamp onto the outside of the existing pipes and require no plumbing, pipe-cutting or even water shut-off.
- Access: Only a short, straight length of existing pipe is needed to fasten the meter, which makes them ideal for many use-cases with limited access where in-line meters would not be practical or even feasible.
- Low maintenance: Like in-line ultrasonic meters, there are no moving parts to wear out or break down.
- Not susceptible to Freezing: Since they do not interface with the water, ultrasonic clamp-on meters are not susceptible to freezing or related damage, which is a significant benefit in cold climates.
Disadvantages:
- Limited Options: These advanced systems leverage the latest technology and only a small number of companies provide solutions.
- Cost: Given they utilize newer technology, costs can be higher than traditional mechanical solutions.
Smart Water Meters
Smart water meters represent another class of service, leveraging connected Internet of Things (IoT) technology to communicate directly with backend systems to provide comprehensive and timely water use data. They are part of the broader trend towards smart home and building management systems.
Types of Connectivity Technology for Smart Water Meters
- Cellular Connectivity: Cellular smart water meters connect directly to cellular networks, eliminating the need for any additional on-site infrastructure.
- Benefits: Ideal for remote locations or areas where Wi-Fi or other short-range wireless networks are unavailable or inaccessible. These systems require no additional setup for communication, as they leverage existing, highly reliable and available cellular networks. Each meter has a direct independent connection to the cellular network, similar to a cellphone, so there are no single points of failure as with typical hub and gateway systems.
- Considerations: May involve ongoing subscription fees for communications.
2. Short-Range Wireless with On-Site Repeaters and Gateway: These meters use short-range wireless communication (e.g., Zigbee, LoRa) and unlicensed spectrum to transmit data to an on-site gateway or repeater.
- Benefits: Effective for buildings or complexes where meters are spread over a large area but within the range of a central gateway.
- Considerations: Requires on-site infrastructure setup, including repeaters and gateways, to ensure data reaches the central system. Unlicensed spectrum is more susceptible to interference since many appliances leverage the same airwaves.
3. Wi-Fi Connectivity: Wi-Fi-enabled smart water meters connect to the local Wi-Fi network for data transmission.
- Benefits: Suitable for areas with strong Wi-Fi coverage and gateway access.
- Considerations: Typically requires more power, so these meters often need to be plugged into an electrical outlet or have a reliable power source to function effectively. They require integration with local WiFi networks with sufficient access, coverage and range, which can be a challenge. Finally, the WiFi gateway is a single-point-failure for communications, so when it is unavailable, no meters will be able to connect to back-end systems. For these reasons, it is important to have trained information-technology (IT) personnel available onsite to keep these systems operational.
Advantages for Smart Water Metering Systems:
- Remote monitoring: Provide regular access to water usage data, allowing for prompt detection and response to issues.
- Leak detection: Advanced algorithms can identify leaks quickly, preventing water waste and damage.
- Remote reading: Water usage data is read remotely, eliminating the need for manual meter readings, which simplifies management and improves accuracy.
- Cloud-based Platforms: These solutions often provide backend platforms that can be accessed to provide insight to water-use data for each property. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is often used for enhanced analytics.
- Alerting: Can be configured to communicate when water-use anomalies are detected, sending alerts to designated personnel for action.
- Service-based business models: Since these solutions provide recurring value, they are typically provided as a subscription or service. This can lower the up-front costs and provide for improved support and evolving features for the duration of the deployment.
- Integrated with Billing System Software: These solutions often integrate with existing property management software solutions to further simplify the monthly billing process.
- Integration with other smart home systems: These meters can be integrated into broader smart home or building management systems for comprehensive resource management.
Disadvantages:
- Recurring Costs: IoT solutions are provided as a service and come as a subscription. Where allowed, service costs are typically passed through to residents as part of the monthly water bill.
- Requires electrical power: Some Smart Meters need a continuous power source to operate, which can be a limitation in some settings.
- Battery Powered: Helps to expand compatibility across all settings but requires monitoring and maintenance for long term deployments
Smart Water Meter Communications Options
There are different communications technologies used for IoT or Smart Water Meters including wireless Local Area Networks (LAN), hybrid wireless LAN with Wide Area Network (WAN) backhaul and direct wireless WAN (Cellular) communications solutions.
Local Area Network (LAN) solutions: These mature systems often use proprietary wireless LAN technology on unlicensed spectrum. Every billing cycle, a metering representatives must visit the site to come within close enough proximity to read the meter values with specialized equipment. These are often referred to as ‘walk-by’ or ‘drive by’ systems for obvious reasons.
Advantages:
- Efficiency: Since Property or Utility representatives only needs to get close to the meter to read them without visiting every meter physically.
- Consistency and Accuracy: Since meters are read digitally, the data is more accurate and less prone to human error.
Disadvantages
- Labor: These systems still require people with special equipment to visit the property to take meter readings
- Interference: Solutions that use unlicensed spectrum can be susceptible to interference since they must use low power and they often compete with other appliances such as microwave ovens, cordless phones, Bluetooth accessories, etc. With interference, reads would need to be made from a closer proximity impacting efficiency.
Hybrid Wireless LAN / WAN communication Systems: With these systems, often referred to as ‘node and spoke’, each meter includes a wireless LAN radio that communicates over a short distance to a wireless WAN gateway (hub) that backhauls the data for remote monitoring and reading. The gateways are sometimes wired to the intranet through ethernet or utilize wireless WAN technology leveraging public switched wireless (cellular) networks. These solutions improve on the advantages of LAN only deployments.
Advantages:
- Remote Readings: Since they communicate directly with backend systems, meters are read remotely.
- Consistent Communications: Since they are connected, the state of meter is always known and these systems offer compelling features like timely leak detection and alerts for anomalous water-use.
- Leverage Existing Internet Connectivity: Hybrid WAN gateways that utilize ethernet can leverage existing connectivity without additional costs.
Disadvantages
- Network Complexity: Communications between nodes (meters) and the gateway must be set-up and maintained. The WAN gateway backhaul is a separate network that must be set-up, monitored and maintained.
- Resilience and Reliability: In hybrid solutions, the WAN gateways represent a single point of failure. If it goes down, none of the meters can communicate or be read.
- Interference: In these systems, the communications between the nodes (meters) and gateway typically utilize unlicensed spectrum making them susceptible to similar interference issues as LAN-only solutions.
- Power: All IoT or Smart Water Metering solutions need a consistent and reliable source of power. In the case of Hybrid solutions, this is true for the nodes (meters) as well as the gateway(s).
Direct Wireless WAN (Cellular) Communication Systems: In these systems, each meter communicates directly with backend systems utilizing cellular or other wireless WAN technology. IoT Direct wireless WAN connectivity solutions share similar advantages as Hybrid networks, including remote and automated readings as well as advanced leak detection, with some notable improvements.
Advantages:
- Networking Simplicity: Each meter communicates directly through the existing and highly available cellular data network, similar to your phone.
- Reliable and Resilient Network: In these solutions, each meter is directly connected with no single-point-failures, so if one meter is offline, it won’t affect any of the other meters.
- Dedicated Spectrum: Cellular networks use standards-based, highly regulated protocols and dedicated spectrum to communicate, minimizing concerns of interference or inconsistencies.
Disadvantages
- Recurring Costs: Each meter has a dedicated connection leveraging existing Cellular Carrier networks for communications. This is minimized given the limited amount of data transmitted the application however.
- Connectivity Limitations: Although Cellular access is fairly ubiquitous today, these IoT solutions rely on coverage to operate.
Factor | Mechanical Water Meters | Ultrasonic In-line Water Meters | Clamp-On Water Meters | Smart Water Meters |
Accuracy | Moderate accuracy, especially at higher flow rates | High accuracy across a wide range of flow rates | High accuracy across a wide range of flow rates | High accuracy with added benefits of regular data and analytics |
Installation | Professional installation and plumbing | Professional installation recommended and plumbing | Simple, installation with no plumbing | Professional installation if inline not w/ clamp-on |
Maintenance | Regular maintenance. Susceptible to damage from freezing water | Low maintenance due to no moving parts | Minimal maintenance needed | Can be lower maintenance costs with remote monitoring services |
Cost | Higher up-front costs including installation | Slightly higher than cost due to advanced technology | Higher product cost offset by much lower installation expense | Can be lowest up-front costs with recurring service fees |
By comparing these key factors, property owners can make an informed decision on the most suitable water submetering technology for their specific needs and conditions. Each type of meter has its strengths and ideal use cases, allowing for a tailored approach to water management.
Choosing the Right Water Submetering Technology
When selecting a water submetering technology for your property, consider the following factors:
- Property Size and Type: Larger properties may benefit more from the advanced, connected technology provided by smart meters.
- Budget: Mechanical meters are cost-effective to purchase, but installation and maintenance expenses must be considered for a complete view. Service-based solutions offer lower up-front costs and maintenance costs, but come with a recurring subscription.
- Water Usage Patterns: Properties with varying water usage can benefit from the accuracy of ultrasonic meters, particularly if they utilize smart, connected technology.
- Maintenance Capability: Choose a technology that aligns with your maintenance resources, capabilities and budget. Be sure to consider factors like freezing temperatures and long-term plumbing risks if choosing an inline solution.
Why Choose Dune Water Submetering Solution
Experience the future of water management with Dunes’ IoT-based smart water meter solution. Designed for precision and efficiency, our smart water submetering solutions offers:
- Simple Clamp-On Installation: No plumbing, pipe-cutting or need to shut off water to install.
- Ultrasonic Technology: Electronic measures with no moving parts or wear components for long term reliability.
- Connected IoT Technology: Each meter is directly connected to Dune’s backend platform through cellular networks for a secure, reliable connection without any need for network set-up or maintenance.
- Automated Readings: Meters automatically check-in to provide water usage data on a regular basis.
- Remote access: Manage and monitor your water consumption remotely through our user-friendly interface.
- Advanced leak detection: Identify and address leaks swiftly to prevent water waste and damage.
- Configurable Alerts: Designated personnel can receive notification for water use anomalies including potential leaks.
- Short Event Accuracy: The Dune solution takes samples at a very high frequency increasing accuracy for short water-use events.
- Sustainable solutions: Optimize your water usage to contribute to environmental sustainability and reduce utility costs.
Dunes’ smart water submetering solution enables you to take control of your water management like never before.
Contact Dune today to learn how our smart water submetering solution can improve net operating income (NOI), promote conservation and transform your property’s water usage!
Conclusion
Water submetering is an effective way to manage water usage and costs. By understanding the different technologies and solution variants available, you can make an informed decision that best suits your property’s needs.
For more information on water submetering solutions and to find the best solution for your property, contact Dune Labs today.
FAQs
What is water submetering and how does it work?
Water submetering involves installing individual meters for each unit within a property to measure water usage accurately. These meters provide detailed data on consumption, allowing for fair billing based on actual usage, encouraging conservation, and helping detect leaks.
What are the benefits of using smart water meters?
Smart water meters offer real-time monitoring, leak detection, and remote reading capabilities. They provide accurate data, reduce maintenance needs, and integrate with smart home systems, leading to efficient water management and cost savings.
How do ultrasonic water meters differ from mechanical water meters?
Ultrasonic water meters use sound waves to measure water flow, offering high accuracy and low maintenance due to the absence of moving parts. In contrast, mechanical water meters operate with moving parts like turbines, requiring regular maintenance and providing moderate accuracy.
What factors should I consider when choosing a water submetering technology?
Consider the property size, budget, water usage patterns, and maintenance capabilities. Each submetering technology has its strengths, so choose one that aligns with your specific needs and provides the best balance of accuracy, cost, and convenience.
How does water submetering promote water conservation?
By providing detailed usage data, water submetering allows residents to see their consumption patterns and take steps to reduce waste. Accurate billing based on actual usage encourages more mindful water use, leading to overall conservation efforts.