Smart Water Meters

Sterling - truly smart water metering

The best platform for smart water metering, Sterling is durable, with low power consumption and high levels of accuracy across all flow rates and down to the smallest drip.

For manufacturers who need to develop competitive smart metering products Sentec’s patented flow measurement technology provides a low risk solution, easily integrated into a smart meter design at a competitive cost point. Meters based on Sterling combine market-leading accuracy and durability with a number of key ‘smart’ benefits that include: status alerts, usage information for consumers and tariff flexibility.

Measure – and manage – down to the lowest flow

Managing water resources has never been more important and real-time, accurate metering of water usage is the key. Based on patented technology, Sterling is extremely robust, has a tiny energy requirement, and requires no battery replacements over its 15+-year lifespan. Its outstanding levels of resilience and robustness are matched by exceptional accuracy at both low and high flow rates, and high performance levels throughout the meter’s lifetime.

The patented flow sensing technology provides:

Exceptional accuracy, even at very low flow rates, enabling applications such as leak detection, tamper prevention and network monitoring
No moving parts to jam or wear resulting in sustained performance and minimal maintenance right up to the end of life
Measurement of all water passing through the meter for complete accuracy even at very low flow rates
Low power requirement enabling true two-way smart meter functionality such as WAN/HAN communications, alarms, upgrades and data storage
Field upgradeable and large memory allowing future applications
Applications architecture to support field deployment of water use analysis functions

In short, Sterling technology supports true smart water metering, reducing lifetime costs while providing a platform for all future metering needs.

Unfair advantage in smart water metering

Sterling can be integrated into meter designs with very low installation and operational costs, able to support both the valuable applications of today as well as the functions of tomorrow. These potential applications include:

Residential revenue metering
Household and network leak detection
Encouraging changes in consumer behaviour (demand response)
Fully remote meter management
Tamper resilience, detection and reporting
Consumption profiling

Manufacturers using Sterling technology can take advantage of a number of features intrinsic to the technology to improve their competitive position. A low component count not only reduces manufacturing cost but also reduces risks in the supply chain. The design scales well to allow investment to be recovered from products across the water network and requires minimal signal processing, reducing power and design costs. Finally, it offers easy integration of applications firmware and AMI systems allowing product flexibility to future proof designs without excessive costs.

How it works

Sterling is an electromagnetic flow meter. It works by applying a magnetic field to water as it passes through the flow tube and measuring a potential difference across the flow tube which is directly proportional to the speed of the fluid. Understanding the speed of the fluid through a cross section of known dimensions allows the calculation of flow.

For more information, please see our Sterling PDF data sheet

Working with Sentec

Sterling is currently incorporated into two outstanding metering products: Sensus Metering System’s iPERL and Aquiba’s A200 smart water meter.

Outside water metering Sterling’s features meet the needs of industrial and dispensing applications where accuracy, wide dynamic range or low power consumption are required.

Sterling is available under license or partnership agreement for water metering and other applications. Please contact Sentec for more details.For more information on working with Sterling and Sentec, please see the PDFs on this page or contact Sterling@sentec.co.uk to discuss specific requirements

Case Study

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