AMR or Automated Meter Reading is the term given to the connection of a logger or remote telemetry unit to a water meter. The information obtained may be used for a number of different purposes: billing, coml315-dc_100nsumption profiling, network planning and leak detection.




Consumption figures have traditionally been obtained by a meter reader who visits the site at pre-determined intervals to read the dials on the meter. Connection of a telemetry unit allows readings to be automatically transmitted to the water supplier. Rather than a single reading at the end of the billing period, utilities can profile consumption at shorter intervals such as a day.




Water use will follow a typical pattern for most users. In a domestic application, consumption will peak early in the day and again in the evening, falling off to very low figures overnight. If a threshold is set on the night time consumption, alarms can be raised if a leak causes consumption to rise. Rather than being applied at a household level, leak detection is usually applied at an aggregate level for example on a supply main feeding a couple of hundred households.




In rural applications, water may be used to fill stock troughs or tanks. The flow in these situations rarely goes outside of a predictable range. A sudden high flow indicates a pipe burst or leak. With  the potential for leaks to go un-noticed for long periods of time, a leak can become very expensive. Installing a telemetry unit on the water meter thus provides a cost effective early warning alarm.




One of the most cost effective sensor outputs is the pulse output. A pulse sensor provides a closed contact when a specific event occurs: for a flow meter, this will be after a known quantity of flow occurs.. When choosing a meter and pulse head, users can choose an output rate which will give pulses at a rate which can be easily counted by the telemetry unit e.g.. 1 pulse per 1l, 10l, 100l, 1kl, 10kl, 100kl. The telemetry unit then counts the number of pulses which occur in the chosen logging interval (e.g. 15 min, 1 hour, 1 day). For compatibility with the mechanical indicators typically fitted to flow meters, telemetry units also allow users to create a flow totaliser. This can be set to a start value which matches the meter dials and , as flow accumulates, will always agree with the mechanical indicator.




 YDOC’s MLN315DS-LI telemetry unit is ideally suited for flow metering. It is powered via a single use Lithium battery (18AH) and features three pulse channels. As the unit also carries a serial input, it may be connected to a wide range of SDI-12 and MODBUS meters. Most modern domestic and rural water meters now include an inbuilt metering device. A small battery powered head (the Kyble) can be fitted on top of the meter and will give a pulse output each time a nominated amount of water  flows through the meter.
High and Low flow alarms can be set up in the RTU and alarms notified by user via SMS or Email. The readings are stored on the RTUs on board memory card and are also transmitted to a YDOC Insights server where they can be viewed on any web connected device.




The LoRaWAN protocol offers the chance to completely change the market for automated meter monitoring. Once a LoRaWAN network is deployed in an area (which is as simple as someone installing a LoRaWAN Gateway)  LoRaWAN nodes can be added at any meter site. Because data from meters is only required at infrequent intervals (e.g., once a day)  the nodes will last many years on a single use lithium battery. This allows hardware designers to dramatically reduce the node cost and makes for very simple installation. An AMR version of the Tekbox TBS12 is under development .