A metered approach

The US and Scandinavian countries, for example, have been active drivers behind the implementation of these concepts. Sweden in fact has passed a law stipulating that electricity consumption must be read monthly based on the actual rather than anticipated use.

In the Middle East, sub-metering with manual reading of electricity and water consumption is already being carried out on a wide scale across various sectors. Building owners and property developers now understand the financial and operational benefits of implementing sub-metering, both for themselves and their customers.

Why implement AMR and sub-metering?

There are many reasons for implementing AMR systems and sub-metering, with most of them being quite simple and logical:

• To cope with rising energy prices;

• To reduce energy consumption;

• To avoid manual reading, thereby reducing operational costs;

• To base billing on actual consumption rather than anticipated use;

• To implement tariffs;

• To reduce fraud, theft and problems caused by bad debt;

• To ensure utility revenues;

• To improve customer service and satisfaction.

AMR systems are also now being used in the Middle East. The district cooling industry is a major user of the technology, but there is also a growing interest for AMR systems that will read all energy meters in a building, such as those measuring water, electricity and gas usage.

But who will benefit from implementing AMR systems, besides the utility providers? Results so far show a clear tendency towards lower energy consumption; easy reading with no manual interactions; improved data authentication; a reduced number of bad payers and lower debts and a faster return on investment. So the answer is that all will benefit, in different ways – the tenants, building owner, energy provider and, not least, the environment.

System operation

AMR systems automatically collect the data from energy sub-meters and transfer it to a centralised database that is typically located within the utilities operation centre or in an individual building. From here the system performance can be monitored and bills for the individual tenants can be generated collectively or individually if needed.

The energy meters for sub-metering chilled water are today generally based on ultrasonic measuring principles. These replace the traditional mechanical meters, which tend to be unreliable and slow down over time.

The electricity meters that are used in AMR systems are electronic and may include built-in shut-off functionality. The communication from the meters can be wired or wireless.

M-Bus communication is a typical form of wired systems, whereas two-way RF communication (radio communication) is considered standard for wireless systems.

RF technology is now implemented in many countries based on international communication protocols.

Benefits to tenants

The tenant’s main focus is the periodic bill being presented to them from the utility firm or building owner. Traditionally, bills were based on estimates and an annual meter reading that resulted in corrections being made on the bill for the following year.

If the tenant is billed regularly based on their actual consumption it will raise their awareness and therefore their cautiousness about consumption. With fixed costs for utilities, tenants will see no need or incentive for shutting off services such as air conditioning in periods when they are not needed.

Tenants previously had to be present at the time of reading, however, AMR systems eliminate this need. This gives the end-user – the tenant – a more convenient operation. Readings in connection with changes in occupancy can be done at a specific time determined by the tenant, giving them the actual status and final bill instantly.

In general, sub-metering and AMR systems have shown reductions in the energy consumption of 10-20% and improved tenant satisfaction in regards to the services and provisions from the utility firm or the building owner.

Building owner benefits

Building owners have to protect their revenue and ensure the overall spending on energy is reimbursed. They also have an interest in providing a seamless service to tenants and reducing disputes over invoiced energy bills.

In lease contracts where consumption is included in the rent, it is difficult for building owners to raise energy prices as those from the utilities increase. Usually the rent is fixed and has been prepaid, making it difficult to pass on additional energy bills to the tenants.

Also, the building owner may find that the overall consumption suddenly exceeds the estimated value for which the rent calculation has been based. With AMR the tenant can be billed regularly based on their actual consumption and these problems will be diminished.

Benefits for utilities

The region’s utilities providers are facing a number of challenges, one being the unobstructed access to the meter for manual readings.

Human errors may also occur when using manual readers. Automatic meter reading provides increased performance in data collection. In avoiding manual data entry or manual data transfer, a potential source of error is eliminated from the process.

Fraud and theft are also frequent problems, and with difficulties of gaining access to properties it might be impossible for the utility firm to check the installation. In addition, outstanding debts and late payments are added to the daily challenges the utilities face.

New technology provides the possibility of simply shutting off the supply if the tenant does not pay its bills. Before AMR this could be a slow process, but now it can be done via a keyboard at the utility firm’s control centre without the interaction of any personnel.

Environmental benefits

The global warming debate has recently escalated worldwide and there is no doubt that the debate and the political interaction to address the problem of greenhouse gas emissions will continue to gain momentum in the future.

There is a general belief that there is a relationship between increased climatic temperatures and energy production, and thus our energy consumption.

And following the agreements in Kyoto and Bali, it must be realised that global warming is a worldwide challenge and not only relevant to a few countries. It affects all countries and therefore all nations must work towards reducing their energy consumption.

With the spotlight now firmly focused on energy consumption throughout the globe, there is no doubt that the deployment of automatic sub-metering will escalate.

We are also likely to see further integration between the various services within buildings.

A seamless integration between metering systems and building management systems will become a must and this carries a huge potential for optimising operations and investments.

The need and demand for monitoring and controlling our own energy consumption, for example via applications on the internet, is also expected to rise, paving the way for the full deployment of true AMR systems.

Hans Peter Kyk is general manager, Middle East of Kamstrup.