From the meter to the smart meter
A smart meter measures flow continuously and communicates its reading. With that data, leaks and anomalies are detected as they happen, alerts are sent, the consumption history is stored and it integrates with the irrigation, mixing or automation system to act, for example by closing a valve.
It isn't only for large farms: a grower with automatic irrigation and fertigation, or a fruit and vegetable operation, benefits just as much from knowing what is happening in each sector without having to be there.
The calculation: what a drop loses
A drop of water has a volume of the order of 0.05 mL. A leak of one drop per second loses 0.05 mL × 86,400 s ≈ 4.3 litres per day, about 1.6 m³ per year. It seems little, until you multiply it by the points in an irrigation network.
A continuous trickle is another scale: a leak of just 1 L/min is 1,440 litres a day and more than 500 m³ a year. A meter that samples every few minutes sees that anomalous night-time flow on the first night; the traditional meter, months later.
Lessons for your company
- The traditional meter reports the past; the smart one lets you act in the present.
- Night-time or out-of-shift flow is the best indicator of a leak.
- Integrating measurement with automation turns the alert into an action.
Sources and references
Óscar C. González · original post on LinkedIn ↗The economic data and results cited come from the linked sources (cases published by the companies themselves, technology integrators or academic institutions). oscarcabreragonzalez IoT Studio compiles this information for informational purposes; it does not imply any commercial relationship with the companies mentioned.
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