AIUT will implement a remote water meter readout system in Wrocław

AIUT, in cooperation with Emitel, is to build an innovative system for reading water meter parameters for Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Wodociągów i Kanalizacji (Municipal Water and Sewage Company) in Wrocław. It is the first Polish smart city project of such a great scale, employing the LoRaWAN network. The implementation will commence in May this year.

The intelligent AIUT SmartCity IoT platform for remote water meter readouts and water network management will operate in Wrocław. The solution is based on energy-saving, wireless LoRaWAN communication technology. The system will allow for automatic readouts of the current meter status without the need for the inspector to visit the user's property. The solution will reduce water losses as well. Moreover, it will also ensure efficient, maintenance-free settlements with residents and property managers and the bills will be generated based on real and actual consumption.

Wrocław MPWiK has chosen

It is one of the largest municipal Internet of Things (IoT) projects in Poland. As a target, it will cover more than 70 thousand metering devices. As part of the project, special IoT devices provided by AIUT will be installed on the water meters to enable wireless data communication. AIUT is also responsible for the implementation of data management software, system integration and the reporting model. Emitel, being the consortium leader, will build a network that will cover the entire city of Wrocław. Emitel will use the LoRaWAN technology to implement the network project. The company will also ensure the maintenance and operation of the entire system for MPWiK.

– We believe that a modern city is a joint project of residents, local authorities and companies. Wrocław is among Polish leaders in Smart City solutions implementation, and LoRaWAN-based technologies are one of the pillars to make our city also the Polish capital of the Internet of Things – says Witold Ziomek – President of the Board of Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Wodociągów i Kanalizacji in Wrocław.

To control water means to reduce its losses

The system of remote, automatic water meter readouts designed for MPWiK in Wrocław will ensure ongoing monitoring of water consumption within the entire network. The solution will significantly reduce water losses and more accurately estimate further needs for its purchase.

– Using IoT technology for water consumption monitoring allows not only to charge customers for their actual consumption on a monthly basis but - above all - it reduces water losses and significantly improves the efficiency of infrastructure management processes. This translates into lower costs for the water utility company and consumers as well. The stationary system that we're now implementing in Wrocław will provide automatic daily water meter readouts, without the need to collect the readouts by an inspector in traditional, time-and-resource-consuming ways as was the case with the older generation of systems. The solution will allow to control the actual water consumption and effectively plan its purchase. It will also enable faster detection of leaks and failures while reducing water losses – says Marek Gabryś, President of the Board of AIUT Sp. z o.o.

For the benefit of cities and their residents

Internet of Things (IoT) technologies are crucial for building smart cities. Modern cities are to be friendly to the environment and its inhabitants. The solutions implemented in Wrocław are in line with the challenges faced by cities in Poland today.

– The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated implementation of the projects which not only enable cost reduction and effectiveness increase, but also influence an improvement in residents’ life quality and support the environmental protection goals. Our innovative solutions make it possible to use the potential of technology in construction of smart cities. We strive for becoming the leader in Internet of Things solutions in Poland, and cooperation with such experienced companies as AIUT lets us respond to the needs of our customers even better. It is worth noting that SmartCity solutions are designed not only for major cities, therefore we expect that Polish local government will be highly interested in our offer. Such projects may be driven by funds available, among others, as part of the National Recovery Plan – says Andrzej Kozłowski, President of the Board of Emitel S.A.

LoRa - the best solution for water companies

The solutions supplied by AIUT and Emitel will ensure monitoring of the water infrastructure as well as a broader communication with devices located in hardly accessible locations, such as deep wells or cellars. In order to implement the network design, Emitel will employ LoRaWAN technology.
Emitel has 521 high-rise and telecommunication structures throughout Poland (as of 31st of December 2020). Using its infrastructure and experience, for years, the company has been developing communication for the needs of IoT City, based on Long Range Radio technology. The availability of such solutions is supposed to stimulate the development of services based on low-energy networks in Poland. LoRaWAN enables long-distance communication between devices, with minimum Energy consumption.

We build smart cities

This is yet another implementation of Smart City solutions brought by AIUT. The AIUT Smart City IoT platform is one of the most modern solutions on the market for managing the water supply and heating network. The system has already been successfully used by Polish water companies.

– Our systems allow for remote management of municipal utilities supply networks, bringing tangible economic benefits to water, heating, gas and energy companies, as well as city administrators. They also significantly improve the quality of life of the residents – states Andrzej Madej, deputy director of the Smart City IoT industry at AIUT.
– The system we implement in water supply companies allows the client to control the actual water consumption and monitor the condition of all water meters at the same time. This allows to quickly identify leaks, shorten the time of their detection, and by the same means significantly reduce the cost of failure. In this way, our solutions help local governments to implement the vision of smart cities – he adds.

Currently, apart from the Wrocław project, the company is also implementing a platform for remote water meter readouts and operation monitoring for the water supply network in Chorzowsko-Świętochłowickie Przedsiębiorstwo Wodociągów i Kanalizacji Sp. z o.o. A total of approx. 8.5 thousand AIUT devices will be mounted on water meters in this case. The devices utilise the LoRaWAN communication network on a daily basis to feed the system with hourly readouts from all water meters managed by the municipal company. As part of the implementation in Chorzów and Świętochłowice, AIUT will also build the LoRa network. Meanwhile, a project of an identical solution for the water supply company in Wronki is being implemented - AIUT has signed a contract with the client recently.