CHESTERFIELD, United Kingdom – Severn Trent Services, manufacturer of SmartMeter™ intelligent water meters will be showcasing its revolutionary 'no moving parts' metering technology at the world's largest water and waste treatment event, IFAT 08 in Munich. This is the first time the company has exhibited at the event, which it will share with its purification and international contract operations divisions.
With over a million water meters installed worldwide across the UK, Middle East and North America, Severn Trent Services is positioned to capture the European market following the validation of its products against the Measuring Instruments Directive (MID) standard. The SmartMeter™SM150 and SM250 families of electronic water meters were the first battery powered residential devices to be approved to the OIML standard that forms a major part of the requirements for MID approval.
Dr Neil Furmidge, Business Development Director at Severn Trent Metering Services, said: "The MID was introduced to provide a common standard for measuring instruments across Europe. Our certification has opened a large un-tapped market for us and our presence in Germany reflects our commitment to expanding our business."
The SmartMeter™uses fluid oscillation technology to monitor water consumption and leakage - thereby supporting the optimisation and improved efficiency of customer networks. The units can output data in different formats to accommodate Automatic Meter Reading systems (AMR).
"One of the compelling reasons to install SmartMeter™ is its accuracy. Traditional meters can degrade over time through mechanical wear, which can lead to inaccurate monitoring and consequently reduced revenues. As SmartMeter™ has no moving parts, it is unaffected by particles and is able to maintain its accuracy for the entire product life. For water companies looking to maximise their investment in infrastructure, SmartMeter™ is a strong proposition," added Dr Furmidge
At IFAT, Severn Trent Services will also introduce a new low cost intelligent water meter. A major benefit of the SM150VR+ is the ability to upgrade to an encoded output, which enables the meter to be read using an AMR (Automatic Meter Reading) device. This ensures that billing data is correct and enables meters to be read without requiring access to the property.
In addition, the meter can be used to provide instant meter reads and "doorstep billing" through an inductive coil in the meter and a hand-held printer device. The SmartMeter SM150VR is the first water meter to offer such a doorstep billing system to accelerate the meter reading and billing process.