Water is one of the most precious resources we have. The world’s population, homes, industry and draught conditions in many regions, are putting more pressure on water restrictions. Cities and communities are stepping up enforcement of restricted watering times and amounts to ensure the local water supply is protected. However, manual monitoring of water use through neighborhood drive bys or monitoring water bill amounts is not an easy task for service providers when there are hundreds of thousands of households to monitor.
But there is a better way.
Smart water meters monitor the amount of water being used, but can also provide real-time information to providers and municipalities through wireless connectivity. The long range capabilities of Sub-1 GHz wireless connectivity makes it perfect for monitoring neighborhoods from one location to get real-time usage information. This same principle can also be used to monitor electricity usage to find anomalies in a house’s consumption and locate stolen electricity lines.
This may seem a little extreme, but the real-world applications are saving water and electricity, and are even helping to stop crime.
In draught-stricken areas, it is common for water restrictions to limit lawn watering to once a week or even less and typically on a strict day and time schedule. Wirelessly connected smart meters can detect excessive consumption that would indicate improper watering and use or even a broken pipe. With accurate and timely information, utility companies can dispatch teams to investigate and determine the cause and take action – citations for improper watering or water use, notifying home or building owners of broken pipes that need to be addressed, or getting city pipes fixed.
Stealing electricity is not a new crime, but it is now one that can be detected by adding wireless connectivity to electricity meters. Much like monitoring water meters, utility companies can monitor for unusual electricity consumption to determine if a home’s or building’s electricity has been compromised.
So how does water and electricity monitoring stop crimes other than locating stolen services?
Police are using the real time monitoring highlighted above to help identify illegal drug farms because of the large amounts of water and electricity needed to grow crops. Taking a high-tech approach, police and governmental agencies use wirelessly connected transformers and meters to more precisely pin-point where these farms are located by studying large spikes in usage.
Wireless connectivity is revolutionizing several areas of smart metering by providing easier maintenance, billing and support beyond monitoring for utility abuse. Read this whitepaper for more information on how wireless connectivity is enabling a smarter grid.
Learn more:
- TI’s SimpleLink Sub-1 GHz CC1200 smart RF transceiver and Sub-1 GHz high performance family
- TI’s smart grid solutions
Discover TI’s vision for the smart grid and energy markets in this new industrial video and read our new white paper about technologies that will allow smart cities on the grid to embrace renewable forms of energy generation.
Learn more about TI’s smart grid capabilities in these blog posts featured during #OntheGrid week:
- The power of information #onthegrid – Tools Insider
- New article explains how MCUs ease solar micro inverter design – On the Grid
- Engineering a smarter energy grid – On the Grid
- Configurable AFEs change the future of power line communications – Analog Wire
- Stopping utility fraud and abuse with wirelessly connected smart meter monitoring – ConnecTIng Wirelessly