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The SmartMeter™ SM700 20- and 30-gallon-per-minute water meters, employing fluidic oscillation technology that features no moving parts, have been shown in customer usage and independent laboratory tests to prevent losses in water metering revenue that are caused through progressive meter inaccuracy.
To test the accuracy of mechanical meters and establish the potential effect on revenue of a variety of replacement strategies, an Illinois SmartMeter customer performed a whole-life cost analysis by removing from service 104 randomly selected mechanical meters. A weighted analysis against typical consumption was undertaken on the removed meters. Twenty percent of the tested meters had been used in low flow rate situations, 65 percent in average flow rate and 15 percent in high flow rate.
The 104 meters analyzed ranged from four to 15 years in service, with an average of approximately 12 years. The weighted average accuracy of the meter sample was found to be 89.3%. Based on an average quarterly utility bill of $71.97, this equates to a revenue recovery loss of approximately $8.62 per meter per quarter or $34.48 per year. At this rate, and with an average quarterly bill per household of $71.97, the loss of revenue without replacing the meters over the following three years was calculated at $1.5 million.
SmartMeter technology accuracy also has been proven in independent laboratory tests where up to 14.5 million gallons of water were passed through the meters. The SM700 accuracy was maintained within the AWWA standard limits even after the completion of the tests. More than one million SmartMeters worldwide are operating successfully after several years in the field, often in harsh conditions.
SmartMeters have no moving parts and are unaffected by grit and particulates, including sugar sand, a fine silt found in states including Florida, New Jersey, Michigan and California. Degradation in accuracy of mechanical meters has been established even in areas where the quality of water is high. However, the loss of accuracy occurs significantly faster when water from boreholes or where sugar sand is commonplace. This loss of accuracy by mechanical meters begins soon after installation and can result in progressively large losses in revenue for water utilities.
SmartMeters provide a range of functions to monitor leakage, supply data and prevent meter tampering, helping water companies optimize their networks. Meters are available in a variety of data output formats for integration into Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) systems.