AquaSMART: Innovative self-powered, remotely controlled water meter for leak/flood prevention

在过去的10年里，英国的水费已经超过了通货膨胀水平，由于计划对供水网络的投资（到2020年为440亿英镑）和需求的增加（到2020年每天增加8亿升），预计还会进一步增加。另一个上升的压力是由Escape of Water -EoW给账单带来的，EoW每天要花费英国保险公司200万英镑，每年平均每个家庭要消耗4.5万升水。研究表明，水表可以减少15%的用水量（每年58英镑）。家庭，平均账单385英镑）。英国水表市场的大部分（75%）由Arad、Sensus、埃尔斯特和Itron提供的低成本（约100英镑）水表组成，这些水表由可充电电池供电，因此受到限制，因为它们没有足够的电力来有效防止泄漏/洪水，以解决EoW的重大问题。这些局限性在行业内是公认的，正如Aqua Command Limited（ACL）的独立研究所证明的那样，该研究涉及到与大约30个最终用户的广泛咨询。为了抓住低成本防泄漏/防洪水表的主要商机，ACL正在寻求开发AquaSMART：优势：- 第一个由电源组合自供电的仪表（涡轮机，热电发电机（TEG）和水电池）提供足够的电力，以防止泄漏/洪水-低成本（100英镑/米）与同类最佳IntelliH 20相比（300英镑/米）-改进的数据粒度，以检测小泄漏-测量使用低至100毫升/分钟，现有的米只能测量使用570毫升/分钟在IUK的支持下，该项目旨在探索使用组合的电源的可行性;提供一个基本原型的AquaSMART包括新的硬件、软件和固件组件;以及完整的可编程测试。如果成功，该技术将为家庭、公用事业公司、保险公司和房屋建筑商提供重大利益，并可能作为辅助生活的监测工具

Over the past 10 yrs UK water bills have risen above inflation levels, a further increase ispredicated due to planned investment in the water network (£44bn by 2020) & increasingdemand (an extra 800M litres/day by 2020). An additional upward pressure is placed on billsby Escape of Water -EoW which costs UK Insurers £2M every day and accounts for the up to45K litres of water each year from the average houshold.Research has shown that water meters can cut consumption by 15% (£58p.a./household, avg.bill £385). The majority of the UK water meter market (75%) is made up of low cost (~£100)meters supplied by Arad, Sensus, Elster, Itron which are powered by rechargeable batteries &thus are limited as they do not have adequate power for effective leak/flood prevention toaddress the significant issue of EoW. These limitations are recognised within the industry, asevidenced by Aqua Command Limited’s (ACL) independent research, which involvedextensive consultation with ~30 end users.To address the major business opportunity for a low cost water meter with leak/floodprevention, ACL is seeking to the develop AquaSMART: Advantages:- First meter to be self-powered by a combination of power sources (turbine, thermoelectricelectric generator (TEG) & water battery) providing sufficient power for leak/flood prevention- Low cost (£100/meter) compared to best in class IntelliH20 (£300/meter)- Improved data granularity to detect small leaks –measures usage down to 100ml/minute,existing meters only measure usage to 570ml/minuteWith support from IUK, this project aims explore the feasibility of using a combination ofpower sources; deliver a basic prototype of AquaSMART incl. novel hardware, software &firmware components; & complete PoC testing. If successful the technology offer significantbenefit to households, utility companies, Insurers and house builders with potentialapplication as a monitoring tool for assisted living