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

在过去的10年里，英国的水费一直高于通胀水平，由于计划中的供水网络投资(到2020年达到440亿GB)和不断增加的需求(到2020年，每天额外增加8亿升)，预计水费还会进一步上涨。水垢的逃逸给账单带来了额外的上涨压力，英国保险公司每天花费200万英镑，相当于平均每个家庭每年高达45K升的用水量。研究表明，水表可以减少15%的用水量(GB 58p.a/户，平均账单GB 385)。大多数英国水表市场(75%)是由Arad，Scount，Elster，Itron提供的低成本(~GB 100)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这一重大问题。这些局限性在行业内得到了认可，Aqua Command Limited(ACL)的独立研究证明了这一点，这项研究涉及与大约30个最终用户进行广泛的咨询。为了抓住具有泄漏/防洪功能的低成本水表的主要商机，ACL正在寻求开发AquaSMART：优势：-第一个由电源(涡轮机、热电发电机(TEG)和水电池)组合提供足够电力以防止泄漏/洪水的水表-成本(GB 100/米)低于同类最佳的IntelliH20(GB 300/米)-改进了数据粒度，以检测微小泄漏-测量使用量降至100毫升/分钟，现有的仪表只能测量到570毫升/分钟的用电量在IUK的支持下，该项目旨在探索使用多种电源组合的可行性；交付AquaSMART的基本原型，包括新颖的硬件、软件和固件组件；以及完整的PoC测试。如果成功，这项技术将为家庭、公用事业公司、保险公司和房屋建筑商带来重大好处，并有可能成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