Revolutionizing domestic water supply with intelligent metering solutions
Kamstrup is a world leading supplier of intelligent metering solutions for energy and water. Danish Fareed, General Manager (MENA), Kamstrup, shares details on cutting-edge smart water metering solutions in the UAE with Khaleej Times. Excerpts:
Please shed some light upon Kamstrup operations in the UAE and your major projects in the region.
Kamstrup started its operations in the Middle East region in 2006 with cooling meter solutions. Over the period, the utilities in the region focused their efforts to evaluate the demand for their water distribution network to maintain a sustainable supply and reduce the operations and maintenance costs. Owing to market needs combined with Kamstrup’s decades of experience in network engineering, in 2015, we launched our cutting-edge smart water metering solutions in the UAE, and since then it has been an exciting journey. So far, we have had the opportunity to work with FEWA, SEWA and many residential societies in the UAE.
Since 2017, FEWA has installed around 66,000 ultrasonic smart water meters from Kamstrup. The meter data enables them to measure the water consumption accurately and bill the customers for what they actually consume. Recently, SEWA has signed up with us for an area in Sharjah city where we are supplying 2,500 meters along with our Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) drive-by solution. Their objective is to reduce the non-revenue water with the system that provides with incidents like leakage, burst etc. with minimal human efforts and ease of operations.
What are your plans for 2019 for the MENA region?
Our mission is to create progress for utilities by supplying innovative metering solutions for energy and water consumption. In the UAE, we plan to equip them with our latest remote reading systems so they can make the most out of their meter data. READy is a unique solution for utilities for reading meters remotely, and can be adjusted easily to meet different needs and expand with change. Regardless of whether you choose a solution for reading via mobile or network, the handling of the meters and meter data takes place in the PC program, READy Manager and the data can be maintained at the server or pushed to the cloud.
The fixed network solution from Kamstrup is based on Wired/Wireless M-bus that makes the meter reading full automated. A utility can opt to choose either wireless or wired network reading based on the housing structure, frequency of data collection and operational efficiency required. Aside from ensuring a fair and accurate billing, a network also enables you to optimise operations through near real-time analysis of the water loss and pressure throughout the distribution system. With a READy remote reading system, you can say goodbye to manual readings, reporting via the internet and estimated calculations. Now you can personally read consumption data automatically, without disturbing consumers.
For utilities who wish to get knowledge about their distribution in real-time and want to take immediate actions, we have advanced solutions like pressure sensors, smart valves and our latest analysis platform that offers better control and efficient intervention to stop water loss and unforeseen incidents in their supply processes. The
We believe that today’s technology can create a better tomorrow and we’re excited about the ways our data-driven solutions can help our customers and their communities to tackle the challenges they’re facing now — and those they’ll be met with in the future.” — Kim Lehmann CEO, Kamstrup group
engineers and technicians will be able to monitor developments in their pipelines zone-wise and automatically receive alarms about incidents or irregularities for timely troubleshooting.
What are your thoughts on sustainable development goals and how is Kamstrup aligned with them?
At Kamstrup, our intelligent metering solutions are helping organisations to run smarter, more efficient businesses. At the same time, we’re helping them to make a significant impact on the conservation of natural resources by reducing water and energy loss and usage. The key to which is data.
Data has the potential to revolutionise distribution and supply networks and make a quantifiable contribution to some of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially goal no. 6 and 7. Kamstrup strongly advocates the SDGs and is dedicated to improving energy efficiency, reducing waste and increasing water-use efficiency particularly in areas where water scarcity is an issue.
“We believe that today’s technology can create a better tomorrow and we’re excited about the ways our data-driven solutions can help our customers and their communities to tackle the challenges they’re facing now — and those they’ll be met with in the future,” says, Kim Lehmann, CEO, Kamstrup group.
There is no doubt that smart water metering is an important component for utilities to measure and manage their water distribution network. Can you highlight how it contributes to sustainable development?
Smart metering lights up your distribution network and helps you to localise different kinds of Non-Revenue Water (NRW) so that the utilities can take proactive steps. NRW is a big challenge for the utilities around the world. Trying to reduce NRW can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Smart metering is great for decreasing water loss due to leaks inside homes. The meter automatically sends out an alarm in case of a leak or a burst in the home. This not only limits the total water loss but also increases your customer service. Hence, the utility can minimise unaccounted water supplied in the network while the end consumers also become aware of their consumption.
With the right knowledge at the right time, the fight to reduce NRW and water loss becomes much easier and more efficient. Lower NRW is directly proportional to an increase in revenue, better asset management and ultimately building a sustainable water supply network for the utilities.
A holistic smart metering solution from Kamstrup consists of hardware, software and services, including; consumption meters, communication infrastructure, meter data management systems, smart grid applications, hosted solutions and tools for data analysis.