Smart Metering in the Internet of Things A new technology opens up new possibilities for remote meter reading

ZENNER INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMER MAGAZINE 01 | 16

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Dear Reader,

“The Internet is just hype.” This statement, made 23 years ago by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, was way off the mark. Not only has the Internet established itself globally; it has even gained a little sibling: the Internet of Things (or IoT, for short). Today, there is a discussion about smart things that can communicate independently with each other - and the benefits that may be derived from that for the various industry sectors. Yet the dis-cussion usually remains vague. There are no universal transmission standards, or nationwide networks. Pio-neering companies are needed to drive the actual im-plementation. ZENNER is one of the first manufacturers of measurement equipment on the way to tap into the vast potential of the Internet of Things for its customers.

And we are making great strides: In the course of 2016, we will expand our portfolio by IoT-enabled meters and measuring instruments. We have chosen LPWAN, a transfer standard that is tailored to the requirements of public utilities and energy suppliers, and allows rapid, cost-effective, energy-saving remote reading of meters over long distances. I would like to invite you to find out more about this new technology and the ZENNER solutions in this issue of our magazine.

I especially recommend the interview on page 8, which explains why ZENNER is not the only company to place its bet on the Internet of Things. The international electronics and semiconductor manufacturer Semtech has done the same. Any technological change needs strong partners who break new ground together. New technologies introduce new terms: Internet of Things,

LPWAN, and LoRa® are just a few of terms that need to be explained. This is why we have compiled a short glossary, which can be found on page 11.

We hope you enjoy the magazine!

Alexander LehmannManaging Director of ZENNER International GmbH & Co. KG

Cover featureSmart meters for the Internet of Things 3 - 5

TechnologyRemote readout: smart system 6-7

InterviewReal market opportunities 8 - 10

To the pointGlossary of key terms 11

Contents

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Remote reading via modern radio systems is a promising investment for many municipal utilities and utilities companies, because it provides vast time and cost savings. Walk-by or drive-by solutions that allow the remote reading of meter data ‘in passing’ without having to enter a property are widespread in the municipal sector. In the housing sector, however, the industry is backing so-called Fixed Network Systems, in which meter data is sent to a gateway, from where it is usually trans-mitted to a data centre. The range of both technol-ogies is, however, limited. It is possible to increase the range on standard Fixed Network Systems, but this requires a complex expansion of the infra-structure, for example in the form of data loggers and repeaters. This increases the costs accordingly.

The Internet of Things (IoT, for short) is a new technology that allows remote reading of thousands of meters over long distances in the shortest possible time, while saving time and energy.

ZENNER, the measuring instrument manufacturer based in Saarbrücken, has developed smart meters that can be integrated into the Internet of Things via a radio module.

Using existing networksIntensive work is currently being undertaken in many countries on infrastructure for the Internet of Things in the form of wireless networks, for example in France, Belgium and The Netherlands and now also in Germany. The necessary net-work coverage should be available in more than 100 countries worldwide in only a few years. In Germany, first suppliers plan to build a nationwide network already by the end of 2017. Municipal utilities and utilities companies need not neces-sarily establish their own infrastructure in order to be able to use these technologies. The meters automatically transmit to the existing wireless networks. »

Smart meters for the Internet of Things

ZENNER develops smart consumption meters for the remote reading of meters via the Internet of Things – and thus invests in a promising new technology.

ZENNER will extend its entire portfolio by IoT-enabled meters by mid-year. This is a positive displacement meter with a LoRaWAN™ radio module.

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Collecting meter data efficientlyStationary wireless networks must meet certain requirements in order to be able to read out con-sumption data for water, heat, gas and electricity over long periods and distances. They must have a good range, and must be exceptionally energy- efficient. A low-energy network, so-called Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) is suited for this purpose. The devices can be integrated into the network using appropriate microchips.

An LPWAN network is optimised for transferring small amounts of data over long distances of up to 15 kilometres, and that with extremely low power consumption. This makes it ideally suited for instance for utility meters and sensors, which can operate on just one battery for many years. Moreover, the frequencies have a good pene-tration range, and can reliably reach shafts and basements that are difficult to access.

ZENNER is relying on two communication stand-ards in the development of smart LPWAN solutions for the Internet of Things, one of which

Global expansion of IoT networks

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The works to create the necessary infrastructure for the Internet of Things are currently in full swing worldwide. Telecommunications companies and other network operators want to use it for a variety of automated applications. Both start-ups and estab-lished technology companies develop innovative solu-tions and products that can be networked via the Internet of Things on a daily basis.

The result is a highly dynamic market, which is also reflected in the expanding networks. According to market forecasts from international network opera-tors, corresponding network coverage will be avail-able in more than 100 countries over the next two years. A variety of smart objects and systems could then communicate via the individual IoT networks. It is estimated that, in 2015, there were five billion IoT- enabled devices worldwide. Experts expect this number to increase greatly in the future: approximate-ly 25 billion sensors and devices are expected to be net-worked by 2020. Much of them will be applied in cities, industrial installations and agriculture.

Estimated number of countries with nationwide LPWAN coverage

The Internet of Things makes it possible to read out consumption values of entire cities within minutes.

A battery-powered meter can be read overLPWAN for 10 years, that is how economical theenergy consumption of the radio module is.

METER

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is the internationally increasingly established communication standard LoRaWAN™, which was developed by the LoRa® Alliance. It is an inter-national non-profit organisation of which ZENNER has been a member since March 2016. On the other hand, ZENNER is also relying on the SIGFOX solution. SIGFOX is a French company, established in 2009 and headquartered in Labège, which develops wireless networks worldwide for the connection of so-called low- energy objects. In the future, the ZENNER IoT-radio-module for water meters will be provided in two versions for use in both LoRaWAN™ and SIGFOX networks.

Great potential“Up to now, individual meters, especially meters in shafts, were complicated to read. The use of LPWAN allows a cost-effective and real fixed- network remote reading of thousands of con-sumption meters for the first time”, says Alexander Lehmann, the Managing Director of ZENNER. “Drive-by solutions or complex proprietary infra-structure are no longer necessary for remote readings. It will thus be possible in the future to read meters remotely in a faster and more cost- efficient manner. This is not only significantly more cost-effective for municipal utilities and

utilities companies; it also opens up completely new application options, such as ongoing energy monitoring.”

The Internet of Things also promises big potential for the housing industry and metering service companies, which deal with the consumption- based billing of apartment units. LPWAN networks enable reading not only consumption meters more easily and frequently than before, but also various smart home appliances, such as temperature sensors or smoke detectors. This also ensures the prompt detection of faults, defects or attempted manipu lation.

www.lora-alliance.orgwww.sigfox.comwww.zenner.com/iot.html

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The maximum range of LoRaWAN™ in the open field is 15 km.

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Devices The first level of the Internet of Things (IoT) is formed by smart “things”. Those may be, for example, electricity, heat and water meters, as well as electronic heat cost allocators, which are equipped with radio-enabled microchips. They transfer their measurement data to the Internet of Things. On the other hand, the devices can also receive data and execute relevant commands through their driving elements.

NetworksThe second level are networks that allow communication through the Internet of Things. Private network providers world-wide are currently building IoT networks, analogously to the networks of mobile operators. Various technologies, such as GSM, 4G, LTE or LPWAN are used for this purpose. What technology is used and for which application mainly depends on two factors: data transmission rate and energy consump-tion. In an LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network), small data packets are transmitted with minimum energy consump-tion. This prolongs the service life of the battery-powered radio modules in the devices.

Contact person

for technical questions: Thomas Buchholz (thomas.buchholz@zenner.com)

Smart syste m Remote reading in the Internet of Things is based on a four-level system.

Battery-operated measurement in-struments to measure the consump-tion of water and energy with a bi-directional communication inter-face send consumption values wirelessly to LPWAN gateways.

Measuring instruments with LPWAN

Smart home instruments such as smoke detectors with an LPWAN interface for bi-directional wireless transfer send data to LPWAN gate-ways.

Smart home with LPWAN

Any sensors with a bi-directional communication interface in indus-trial operations, buildings or smart cities can also be integrated into the LPWAN system.

Sensors

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Data managementDatabases constitute the third level. For example, when a radio-enabled water meter transfers consumption data to the Internet of Things using LPWAN, the data must be stored and kept appropriately. This is done by means of cloud-based databases that are operated, for example, by network providers, IT companies or the users themselves. The users do not need to build a relevant IT infrastructure. It is also not neces-sary to have the expertise. They can access the data in real time with the help of the relevant applications.

ApplicationsThe technology can be called truly “smart” only when the data can be evaluated and put to use. This is where the fourth level comes into play: the applications. Multi-storey car parks, which report parking space availability to nearby cars; refuse containers, which are emptied only when full; or measurement devices that send their data directly to a smartphone: the Internet of Things offers almost unlimited possibilities. The main focus is on intelligent energy control technology for households, energy monitoring and power management systems for municipal utilities.

Smart syste m

The LPWAN gateways receive the individ-ual radio telegrams and send commands or updates as necessary to the individual sensors. The data telegrams are managed by a network server.

The data is stored in cloud-based data-bases and is available there for further use and evaluation, e.g. during energy moni-toring, for consumption billing, to initiate service calls or for alarm signalling.

Appropriate web applications are provided for the corresponding user groups for different uses.

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The Internet of Things impresses with its ever-growing infrastructure, low cost and high flexibility.

Real market opportunities

Hardy Schmidbauer, Director of Wireless Products of Semtech Corporation (left), and Alexander Lehmann, Managing Director of Minol-ZENNER Group, in an interview

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Is the Internet of Things a technology bubble or does it offer companies real market oppor-tunities? Alexander Lehmann: A real and very dynamic market is currently being built in the field of usage data collection and remote meter reading. In France and the Benelux countries, in particular, there is already a strong demand for LPWAN- enabled sensors and measuring instruments. The development of infrastructure is driven by private and public institutions with immense monetary investments. Once the expansion of this infrastructure is completed, no additional effort will be required from the customer. They just need to go for the Internet of Things. There-fore, market opportunities definitely do exist, and we are already taking advantage of them.

Hardy Schmidbauer: The Internet of Things is already a reality. LoRa® and LoRaWAN™ perfor-mance has been tested and verified by so many people now that we have market acceptance of the technology. It is really now about showing a strong ROI in nationwide network deployments. One of the applications that are unique to LoRa® is the low cost asset tracking, which will be one of the highest volume application segments for IoT.

Mr. Schmidbauer, why does Semtech, as a leader in wireless solutions and IoT connec-tivity, rely on LPWAN as metering infrastruc-ture technology? Hardy Schmidbauer: The open LPWAN com-munication standard by LoRa® reduces the costs of network infrastructure and deployment. The link budgets and range of LoRa® simplify the net-work deployment, and require far fewer repeaters or gateways. Furthermore, the protocol and architecture of LoRaWAN™ are also designed for a longer battery lifetime from the outset, and thus offer a quantum leap improvement over the exist-ing systems. A LoRaWAN™ network also offers an option to connect to the Internet of Things with smart parking, street lighting, intelligent building systems and many other applications.

What is the advantage of ZENNER, compared to previous remote meter reading systems? Alexander Lehmann: So far, mainly walk-by or drive-by systems are used for remote meter reading. Only limited fixed-network solutions were available so far for the remote reading of the required data from the office PC, and their instal-lation was associated with high costs. The use of LPWAN technologies, such as LoRaWAN™ and SIGFOX, allows a cost-effective and real fixed-network remote reading of thousands of consumption meters for the first time. Our new generations of devices are compatible with both LoRaWAN™ and SIGFOX, and we can use them to read data more frequently, faster and, above all, more cost-efficiently. Individual meters, such as shaft counters, could so far be read only at a great cost. This can also be implemented now over LPWAN.

Low costs are one of the key advantages of LPWAN. How exactly does the network reduce costs? Hardy Schmidbauer: With the range of LoRaWAN™, the network deployment requires far fewer gateways, repeaters or network infra structure. A typical outdoor gateway costs approximately EUR 900, and in-home gateways cost less than EUR 90. A single gateway can collect data over a 15 km radius in suburban environments, and an entire country like Germany can be covered by approximately 3,000 - 4,000 gateways. Alexander Lehmann: LPWAN offers a cost advantage not only when installing the infrastruc-ture, but also in the subsequent use. This is a very important criterion, especially for public utilities and municipal companies. The costs of reading a single meter are reduced to a minimum because the consumption data is no longer read by an employee on the spot, and there is no need to make appointments anymore. »

Interview

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Alexander Lehmann, Managing Director of Minol-ZENNER Group, is driving the expansion of the portfolio by IoT-enabled meters and measuring devices in order to open up the potential of the Internet of Things for ZENNER customers. ZENNER International GmbH & Co. KG develops, manufactures and sells measuring technology for global markets. Its portfolio includes residential, domestic and bulk water meters, heat meters, gas meters and modern systems engi-neering.

Hardy Schmidbauer, Director of Wireless Products of Semtech Corporation, has over 15 years of experience in the development, product definition and strategic marketing of wireless solu-tions. Semtech Corporation is a leading supplier of analogue and mixed-signal semiconductors for sophisticated consumers, enterprise computing, communication and industrial equipment.

Let's get technical: What distinguishes LPWAN from traditional AMI Systems? Hardy Schmidbauer: Most traditional AMI systems are based on meshed networks, in which each node is connected to several others. Mesh networks enabled the first deployments of AMI but there are a few drawbacks to mesh in terms of battery lifetime and capacity of the network. With a LoRaWAN™ network, the architecture is a star so each node communicates directly with the gateway which significantly extends the end-node battery lifetime and also enables multi- tenant or open networks that have the capacity to connect many different applications.

The LoRaWAN™ communication standard seems to be asserting itself in Germany. What are the advantages for the customers who opt for LoRaWAN™? Alexander Lehmann: LoRa® technology is acces-sible to everyone and is interoperable, which means that the customer can integrate devices from different manufacturers into the same system. We followed the same approach when developing our wireless M-Bus radio system according to the Open Metering Standard (OMS) in order to provide customers with maximum flexibility while providing future and thus investment security. In addition, users do not depend on a specific LoRaWAN™ network provider. They can even build and operate their own LoRaWAN™ network, provided that they have the relevant IT skills, which is usually the case with larger companies.

What experiences do you have with this technology in other countries? Hardy Schmidbauer: There have been 16 announcements of nationwide LoRaWAN™ network deployments across the globe and most of the new customers were in the metering market segment. There are volume deployments of metering systems in every region, and our technology is ready to be integrated into more than 80% of Chinese meters.

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Editor:ZENNER InternationalGmbH & Co. KGRömerstadt 6, D - 66121 Saarbrückenwww.zenner.com

Imprint

CoordinationPatrik SartorE-Mail:patrik.sartor@zenner.comPhone: +49 (681) 99676-3157

Images:Cover: iStock, EasyturnP. 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10: ZENNERP. 11: shutterstock, Etoile-Ark; a-image (bottom left)

SIGFOX SIGFOX is a French company, established in 2009 and headquartered in Labège, which develops wireless networks worldwide for the connection of so-called low-energy objects. These objects include water, heat, gas and electricity meters, smart watches and house-hold devices that continuously send small quantities of data. The infrastructure is part of what we know as the 'Internet of Things (IoT)'. The narrow-band wireless network achieves a maximum speed of 1000 bps, and each message can be up to 12 bytes. Each device may send up to 140 messages per day. This enables applications such as networked water, heat, gas and electricity meters, parking space detectors in parking meters, humidity sensors for agriculture, or smoke and intruder alarms.

LoRaWAN™ LoRaWAN™ stands for “Long Range Wide Area Network”. It is an LPWAN standard for wireless communication between battery-powered objects. LoRaWAN™ uses the frequency range of 868 MHz in Europe (US: 915 Mhz). LoRaWAN™ achieves a range of up to two kilometres in urban areas, and up to 15 kilometres in rural areas. Thanks to low power consumption, the battery life may be up to 10 years, depending on application. LoRaWAN™ is an open standard, which facilitates access into the Internet of Things for users, developers and businesses. At the same time, LoRaWAN™ meets the highest safety standards in terms of encryption.

The Internet of Things The Internet of Things or IoT, for short, describes the networking of 'intelligent' objects that are installed in industrial systems, public places or private households. We are already surrounded by billions of networked objects. This makes it possible, for example, that sensors not only collect data, but can also read it from a distance.

In addition, electronic devices can be active-ly controlled by actuators. Experts estimate that there will be approximately 24 billion of

networked devices in the world by 2020. For example some of the numerous areas of ap-plication are industrial process control, au-tomation systems, package tracking, intelli-gent parking space systems, safety and driver assistance in cars, intelligent energy control technology for households and energy supply management systems.

LPWAN (also LPN) LPWAN is an abbreviation for “Low Power Wide Area Network” and means a wireless telecommunications network with a large range and low energy consumption. It connects various objects that are equipped with an appropriate chip. These include sensors or utility meters (water, heat, gas or electricity meters), but also everyday objects that exchange small amounts of data over

long distances. This data transfer between the devices is also known as machine-to-machine communication. Smart meters, for example, need only a small bandwidth and electricity for data exchange via LPWAN. They thus use little energy, and can operate for a long time on a battery. LPWAN is thus a suitable transmission technology for the Internet of Things.

The members of the LoRa® Alliance are driving the network expansion further ahead in many European countries, the US, South Africa and parts of Asia. The exchange of knowledge and experience is to allow interoperability between the participants in an open, worldwide standard.

LoRa® LoRa® stands for long range, i.e. a wide (wireless) range. members of the LoRa®Alliance have the declared aim of establishing LoRa® as the communication standard for the Internet of Things. The brand name of the technology is LoRaWAN™.

Glossary

Editing and Design:Communication ConsultantsGmbH Engel & HeinzBreitwiesenstraße 17, D-70565 Stuttgartwww.communicationconsultants.de

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The new ZENNER communication modules turn the integration of water meters, heat meters, heat cost allocators and other measurement devices with wireless functionality into the Internet of Things into reality. By using LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network) technology and the in-ternationally established communication standards LoRaWANTM and SIGFOX meters can now be read more frequently, more quickly and more efficiently. This allows the efficient and extensive fixed-network reading of consumption measurement devices – with maximum flexibility and minimum effort.

Learn more!www.zenner.com/iot.html

Stationary LPWAN wireless systemFor remote wireless reading via the Internet of Things