AUTOMATED METER READING

SYSTEMS & IT'S POTENTIAL

Chrispal Anand - Carbon and Energy
Manager

Summary

Purpose of Automated Meter Reading

(AMR) system
What does an AMR system entail?
University of Leicester's estate and Its
AMR system
The use of AMR
Maintenance of AMR
Things to bear in mind when embarking
on an AMR

The Purpose of AMR

Eliminate manual meter read

Better quality of data
Help to understand energy and water
usage profile
Avoid energy and water wastage early
Making it easier for legislative compliance
Helps to justify energy efficiency and
water savings projects
Assists in bill validation and re-charges

Typical Meter Reading

Installation
Manual meter reading
system

Monthly or weekly meter

reads using clip board or
handheld devices
Manually enter the readings
into the energy
management software.

Automated meter reading

system

Half-Hourly meter reads via a

suitable method

Meter reads transferred

automatically into a database

The energy management

software uses this database
for further analysis

AMR Data Collection

Methods

Data collection
methods

Low radio
powered
Network (TCP/IP)
SMS
GMS
Hardwire

Data
Logger

Transmit
ter

Typical Meters Connected

AMR

Typical meters

Data loggers
Electricity
meters/submeters
Flow meters
Gas meters/submeters
Heat meters
Portable meters
Steam meters
Water meters

AMR Software

Web based
Client hosted
PC based
Intranet based

The University of Leicester

The University has an extensiveestate in

the City of Leicester, Oadby and Glenfield
comprising of:

5 main sites
291 buildings occupying an area of 290,455
m2
48 hectares of grounds

Number of employees 3,803 (2010-11)

Number of registered students 22,784
(2010-11)

What do you know about your

meters?

Gas - Do you know your MAM (Meter Asset

Manager)?
National Grid / Energy Asset / Smart Metering
System / Exoteric / Off Stream/ etc
Electricity - Do you know your MOP (Meter
Operator)?
Siemens / EDF / EON / British Gas / etc
Of course, you need to know your suppliers
Meter location is important (plant room/boiler
house/ pavement/ under kitchen sink/cleaner
cupboard/etc)

AMR Tender

UoL has been

through 2 AMR
tenders
Tender 1 (2007)
Non-Residential
Buildings
Tender 2 (2011)
Residential
Buildings

Selection criteria

Cost
Software userfriendliness
Data collection method
Installation experience
Ongoing maintenance
for hardware and
software
Staffing levels

University of Leicester AMR

System
University
of
Leicester
Data Bird
AMR
System

University of Leicester AMR

System
University
of
Leicester
Digital
Energy
AMR
System

AMR at University of
Leicester

Number of fiscal meters

Electricity 127 (non Half-Hourly) and 23 (HalfHourly)

Gas 112
Water 94

Number of sub-meters 321 approx

Number of meters on Data Bird system 461
Number of meters on Digital Energy system
216

The Use of AMR Compliance

Legislative
compliance
: Energy
data for
Display
Energy
Certificate /
Energy
Performanc
e
Certificate /
CRC & EU
ETS data
check

The Use of AMR - Projects

- Business case energy efficiency projects

- To prove energy saving projects

Charles Wilson
Building -Voltage
Optimisation Project

Before :
Energy consumption
1,415,098 kWh
Energy cost - 112K After :
Total project cost - 51K
Savings predicted 11%
Savings per year projected 11,846
Payback 4.4 years
CO2 savings 83.6 Tonnes pa

The Use of AMR Switch

Off
-

- To prove behavioural change projects

- Example: Student Switch Off Project during

Feb 2012 at Percy Gee (Students Union Building)

26kwh saved over the

switch off period.
5% saving compared
to previous Thursday
(2/2/12).

The Use of AMR User

Access
- AMR
access for
environme
ntal
coordinator
s

The Use of AMR Billing & Recharges

- Set-up
energy
contractors
within AMR
software
for recharge
purposes

Tips to Maintain AMR

System

Dedicated personnel resource depending

on size of the system
Set alarms and monitor alarms on a daily
basis
Its good practice to take 1 or 2 manual
meter reads per year to reconcile the
automated reads
Site tree structure
AMR providers to provide familiar reports

Finally . Things to bear in

mind

Make sure you have valid business case for

the preferred AMR system
Ensure you choose an appropriate data
collecting system that works for your
institution
Speak to your utility suppliers, MOP and MAM
Choose a user-friendly software
Small contingency pot for unknown meters
Ensure you have a maintenance contract for
hardware and software, which suits your
institution

Any Questions?
Chrispal Anand
Carbon and Energy manager
0116 252 2308
cpa4@le.ac.uk