AUTOMATED METER READING SYSTEMS & IT'S POTENTIAL
Chrispal Anand - Carbon and Energy Manager
Summary
Purpose of Automated Meter Reading (AMR) system
What does an AMR system entail? University of Leicester's estate and It’s
AMR system The use of AMR Maintenance of AMR Things to bear in mind when embarking
on an AMR
The Purpose of AMR
Eliminate manual meter read Better quality of data Help to understand energy and water
usage profile Avoid energy and water wastage early Making it easier for legislative compliance Helps to justify energy efficiency and
water savings projects Assists in bill validation and re-charges
Typical Meter Reading Installation
Monthly or weekly meter reads using clip board or handheld devices
Manually enter the readings into the energy management software.
Half-Hourly meter reads via a suitable method
Meter reads transferred automatically into a database
The energy management software uses this database for further analysis
Manual meter reading system
Automated meter reading system
AMR Data Collection Methods Data collection
methods Low radio
powered Network (TCP/IP) SMS GMS Hardwire
Data Logger
Transmitter
Typical Meters Connected AMR Typical meters
Data loggers Electricity
meters/sub-meters
Flow meters Gas meters/sub-
meters Heat meters Portable meters Steam meters Water meters
AMR Software
Web based Client hosted PC based Intranet based
The University of Leicester
The University has an extensive estate in the City of Leicester, Oadby and Glenfield comprising of: 5 main sites 291 buildings occupying an area of 290,455
m2 48 hectares of grounds
Number of employees – 3,803 (2010-11) Number of registered students – 22,784
(2010-11)
What do you know about your meters?
Gas - Do you know your MAM (Meter Asset Manager)? National Grid / Energy Asset / Smart Metering
System / Exoteric / Off Stream/ etc Electricity - Do you know your MOP (Meter
Operator)? Siemens / EDF / EON / British Gas / etc
Of course, you need to know your suppliers Meter location is important (plant room/boiler
house/ pavement/ under kitchen sink/cleaner cupboard/etc)
AMR Tender
UoL has been through 2 AMR tenders
Tender 1 (2007) – Non-Residential Buildings
Tender 2 (2011) – Residential Buildings
Selection criteria Cost Software user-
friendliness Data collection method Installation experience Ongoing maintenance
for hardware and software
Staffing levels
University of Leicester AMR System
University of Leicester – Data Bird AMR System
University of Leicester AMR System
University of Leicester – Digital Energy AMR System
AMR at University of Leicester Number of fiscal meters
Electricity – 127 (non Half-Hourly) and 23 (Half-Hourly)
Gas – 112 Water – 94
Number of sub-meters – 321 approx Number of meters on Data Bird system –
461 Number of meters on Digital Energy
system – 216
The Use of AMR - Compliance
- Legislative compliance: Energy data for Display Energy Certificate / Energy Performance Certificate / CRC & EU ETS data check
The Use of AMR - Projects
-- Business case energy efficiency projects
-- To prove energy saving projects
Charles Wilson Building -Voltage Optimisation Project
Before :Energy consumption – 1,415,098 kWh Energy cost - £112K After :
Total project cost - £51KSavings predicted – 11%Savings per year projected - £11,846Payback – 4.4 yearsCO2 savings – 83.6 Tonnes pa
The Use of AMR – Switch Off
- - To prove behavioural change projects
- - Example: Student Switch Off Project during Feb 2012 at Percy Gee (Students Union Building)
26kwh saved over the switch off period.
5% saving compared to previous Thursday (2/2/12).
The Use of AMR – User Access
- AMR access for environmental coordinators
The Use of AMR – Billing & Re-charges
- Set-up energy contractors within AMR software for re-charge purposes
Tips to Maintain AMR System Dedicated personnel resource depending
on size of the system Set alarms and monitor alarms on a daily
basis It’s good practice to take 1 or 2 manual
meter reads per year to reconcile the automated reads
Site tree structure AMR providers to provide familiar reports
Finally …. Things to bear in mind Make sure you have valid business case for
the preferred AMR system Ensure you choose an appropriate data
collecting system that works for your institution
Speak to your utility suppliers, MOP and MAM Choose a user-friendly software Small contingency pot for unknown meters Ensure you have a maintenance contract for
hardware and software, which suits your institution
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