Jim ‘Slim’ Mimlitz, SCADAmetrics
When measuring water consumption at major commercial facilities, the gold-standard meter reading is that which is derived from the water meter’s encoder signal; and that signal could previously only be collected by the water utility utilizing specialized AMR (Automatic Meter Reading) instrumentation.
Therefore, if the commercial facility (water purchaser) also desired to collect a similar reading, it would be necessary to add a secondary water meter downstream. However, this solution is expensive and requires a city permit and a licensed plumber to complete the work. Furthermore, the collected reading will eventually drift apart from the utility reading over time, rendering it of limited use.
To solve this problem, SCADAmetrics is pleased to offer an efficient solution that allows the two interested parties (the water utility and the commercial water customer) to share a single water meter, with both entities collecting the identical, gold-standard encoder-based readings.
It is important to note that this solution would necessarily require permission from the owner of the water meter; and generally the water utility owns the meter.
This solution has been studied and approved by major water utilities throughout the United States and Canada.
The following PowerPoint slide presentation illustrates the engineering principle of operation: https://www.slideshare.net/scadametrics/cooperative-meter-sharing-between-the-water-utility-and-commercial-water-customer
Are you potentially interested in sharing a common water meter reading between the utility and end-customer? Give us a call, and we’ll be glad to discuss the possibilities in detail!