The ORION transmitter can be remote mounted on the wall of the house (in this case, next to the electric meter), integral with the water meter or in a pit-mount version capable of prolonged submersion.
Click here to enlarge imageWhen it first began investigating AMR, the utility was seeking to address typical concerns, such as getting accurate, timely reads and improving the efficiency of the meter reading function. But Brainerd Public Utilities, which provides electric power to 7,500 accounts and water service to 5,000, also demanded a multi-utility system that automatically returned meter information to the utility office.
It looked at a variety of systems before deciding on a power line carrier system from Hunt Technologies. It began testing Hunt’s multi-utility solution in 2004. This system combines Hunt’s two-way AMR technology with the ORION® transmitter from Badger Meter to provide both an electric and water read in one packet of information that is transmitted over the power line to the utility.
“We wanted one AMR system that would work for both electric and water,” said Scott Sjolund, technology supervisor at Brainerd Public Utilities. “Multi-utility was a requirement for us from the start. It didn’t make any sense for us to read electric meters if we couldn’t read water too.”
System accuracy was another important consideration. According to Sjolund, the utility looked for a system that virtually removes the potential for error in recording readings, and also provides functions such as outage detection, leak detection and flexible billing options.
In terms of improved efficiency, Sjolund said the utility was looking to reassign meter reading staff to other duties. For this reason, drive-by or walk-by solutions were never a serious consideration because both would require employees to go out in the field to retrieve meter information.
Power Line Carrier
The backbone of Hunt Technologies’ multi-utility solution is its smart endpoint that resides in the electric meter and sends and receives information over the power line. The endpoint is equipped with RF technology enabling it to receive radio signals from the ORION transmitter.
According to Al Swanson, product marketing manager at Hunt Technologies, the TS2 multi-utility endpoint is a true, two-way communication transceiver that is capable of collecting and transmitting electric, water and gas meter reads.
“The biggest advantage of our TS2 system is the fact that it is always on, monitoring time-of-use and demand consumption, as well as detecting outages and leaks,” Swanson said. “You get accurate, billable information every day.”
Benefits
In addition to accurate daily data, Hunt’s multi-utility system offers unique features to utility marketplace. These include:
• Continual monitoring for outage, tamper and leak detection
• A single software system for monitoring electric, water and gas meters.
• Flexible billing cycles, with the ability to immediately perform off-cycle reads.
• Billing extracts compatible with most software programs
Brainerd Public Utilities bills customers monthly, with a single bill for electric and water service. With Hunt’s Command Center software, the utility is able to extract usage information in a format compatible with its InVision billing software.