Meters made by a Luton firm are helping to manage water supply and demand in a dry-as-a-bone part of the world... Colchester.
About 8,500 Elster Smart Meters, from Elster Metering, in Camford Way, Sundon Park, allow Anglian Water to carry out drive-by meter reading and identify leaks much faster than normal.
Smart Meters incorporate radio two-way communication, enabling companies to provide absolute rather than estimated bills. Water meters allow customers to pay for what they use and by 2035, Anglian Water aims to have all water supplies to millioans of customer properties metered.
Paul Glass, project manager for Anglian Water, said: “One stat that sticks in my head, is that of the first round of 1,000 meters installed at previously un-metered properties, about one per cent detected leaks. Because the radio meters are easy to read, it is easier to locate leaks, target remedial efforts and then go back and check these efforts have been effective.”
Stephen Spiceley, sales manager at Elster, said: “Using a combination of reading methods provides an efficient way of reading meters wherever they are installed across large areas. The pilot has gone extremely well and we will continue to work with Anglian Water to fine tune the product in response to their feedback and their specific data requirements.”
Mr Glass added: “Another potential benefit of the leak alarm is that it could enable us to provide our customers with better service. It would be great to be able to call them before they receive a large bill and say we’ve identified a leak and that we can come and fix it. Having these meters allows us to do that.”
Previously, Anglian Water’s standard cycle of reading was every 6-12 months. Now it has leakage teams taking readings monthly to weed out leaks.