13.12.2019 - Say goodbye to the conventional counter!

13.Dec.2019 Say goodbye to the conventional counter!

Elco Industrie Automation GmbH has long been offering high-quality communication solutions for the automation of industrial plants. But that is no reason to rest on our laurels. That is why we are constantly developing new projects that offer our customers many new applications. The current example of this is an IoT reading terminal for meter readings. This is suitable for various analog counters - for example for electricity, gas or water meters. With the NB-IoT technology not only the meter reading can be monitored cost-effectively. In addition, it can be used to perform big data analysis. Moreover, it is possible to provide customers with accurate information about their consumption in real time, helping them to save energy.

Save costs when reading the counter status

The basic idea behind this application is to automate the reading of meter values. In this way, it is no longer necessary for this task to be performed by a field technician. This can save considerable salary costs. The possibilities go even further, for example, the read data can be automatically used for billing. In addition, this system allows remote monitoring - by using the integrated output relay to control a valve or contactor. This allows easy and immediate remote shutdown.

Always use current values

IoT means that the corresponding devices are always connected to the Internet. This makes it possible to read the meter reading in real time. In this way, you can record the current consumption data. This benefits not only the supplier, but also the customer, who in this way can get an excellent picture of his energy consumption.

Easy to retrofit to existing meters

The IoT reading terminal does not require expensive installations. You do not have to install a new counter for this purpose. This device can be easily retrofitted to an existing analog meter. This ensures low investment costs.

Protection against manipulation

The manipulation of meter readings is a major problem for many utilities. The IoT reading terminal can also help in this area. The permanent remote monitoring makes it difficult to manipulate and also offers the possibility for a seal.

Analysis of electricity consumption as an aid in saving energy

Green electricity is very important to protect the environment and the climate. In addition, however, it is necessary to reduce the power consumption as much as possible. Again, the IoT reading terminal helps. This allows to track the consumption exactly. In this way, the customer can better control for what he uses the energy and use this information to reduce consumption.

The project: Joint Development between China and Germany

The development of the IoT reading terminal is a cooperation of companies from Germany and China. The basic idea came from Elco Industrie Automation GmbH, which also handles the project management. However, the necessary equipment is produced in China.

The technology for transmission

The module used to read the meter readings contains a camera that regularly photographs the displayed value. In order to keep the traffic as low as possible, a data compression algorithm is used first, before the module sends the image to the cloud. Here, not only the photo is saved as an evidence. In addition, the software for image processing evaluates the meter reading and digitizes it in this way.