Overview
Smart meter is an intelligent meter with a wide range of utilities. Gas and electricity usage are tracked through smart meters. These meters differ from conventional standard meters, for instance, they send usage readings to suppliers automatically, thus improving the accuracy of bills.
Surge in awareness of the efficient use of energy resources along with rising investments in the development of natural gas pipeline infrastructures are expected to improve the smart gas meter industry scenario. To maintain efficient gas consumption monitoring patterns, the integration of intelligent metering networks with an Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled platform will fuel market demand.
Increase in deployment of IoT has resulted in major digitization across numerous industries, including gas and electricity. Energy firms and grid operators may now supply contemporary energy services owing to the presence of IoT communication networks. Furthermore, the increased use of narrowband IoT will open up opportunities for smart gas metering, as many utilities lack the means or ability to own and manage a communication network. For instance, in 2018, less than 10% of smart gas meters supplied were equipped with cellular IoT; however, this figure is predicted to reach 30% by 2025. As a result, digitalization provides various advantages that help in day-to-day operations, such as improved control over gas quality and cost reduction.
Moreover, along with IoT and high data processing capacity, digitalization involves hybrid cloud architecture, which will enable management of networks in an ever more flexible and effective manner. For instance, in August 2020, Microsoft (U.S.) and SNAM (Italy) unveiled their first collaborative IoT and cloud initiative for the advancement of energy networks’ technical and sustainable growth. The combination of the two will provide a digital architecture that can supply some cloud-based services, such as business apps that serve gas system consumers. The quantity of data acquired by utilities is increasing tremendously as a result of the adoption of smart grids and gas advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) technologies, and Itron (U.S.) similarly provides cloud services. Smart gas meters, which allow frequent, detailed data gathering and analysis, are replacing the conventional meters. Moreover, Itron introduced the Intelis gas meter in June 2018. With the help of this new meter, the typical one-way gas delivery mechanism in the gas distribution network is replaced with an interactive energy network that delivers gas more safely and effectively.
On the contrary, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic hindered the expansion of the power sector as many nations are turning to nationwide lockdowns to stop a further upsurge in the virus’s spread. According to the IEA study, Energy Efficiency 2020, the economic effects of the innovative COVID-19 have slowed down global progress toward the use of more energy-efficient sources of energy. However, in certain regions, residential building electricity usage increased by 20% in the first half of 2020, whereas commercial building electricity use decreased by roughly 10%. Owing to the pandemic, stringent lockdown measures were implemented on nonessential businesses, which paused installation of smart gas meters across several countries. This decreased the adoption of smart gas meters among end users such as industrial, residential, and commercial sectors. The utilities are predicted to make small expenditures in the replacement of deteriorating grid infrastructure and new installations due to the drop in power consumption in the industrial sector. Furthermore, it is anticipated that at this time the expenditures in grid renovation would slow down.
Trends of Smart Gas Meter
- Rise in investments for energy utilities in smart grid technologies allows automatic controlling and monitoring of gas consumption. In the past 10 years, a number of utilities have implemented the walk-by/drive-by data gathering technique to take use of associated metering short-range data transfer capabilities.
- In China, the number of LoRa-enabled gas meter deployments has reached millions of units in recent years. These popular goods are being exported by a number of merchants, including Goldcard, Suntront, and HWM. Leading gas solutions are further being proposed by the new players such as SmartMetersQ and Cavagna. Beyond gathering meter data, monitoring daily indoor temperature and gas use is a critical component for gas. This enables the automated changes to manage interactions with alarms and actuators, such as shut-off valves, and simplify billing.
- The ability of connection to guarantee bidirectional communication and preserve latency to handle alarms and actuators is the new criterion for connectivity selection. Pressure sensors, leak detectors, and operating actuators, such as a conventional shut-off valve, are a few examples of these regulated devices. The LoRaWAN protocol and Semtech’s LoRa devices are rapidly regarded as the standard option for IoT applications, including smart metering for utilities.
- The U.S. utility Indianapolis power & light (IPL) signed a contract with Landis+Gyr to expand its advanced metering infrastructure program. In this contract, Landis+Gyr would deploy 350,000 smart meters and upgrade utility’s existing network to optimize data telemetry by already installed smart meters, which is expected to help it enhance the management of energy distribution, integration of renewable resources, consumer energy efficiency, and quality of service.
- The demand for smart gas meters is currently rising in a number of important markets in India, Europe, and North America. In 2021, Itron deployed its advanced metering solution in Liberty Lake, which enabled delivery of 22,000 natural gas end users. This deployment was done to modernize its natural gas distribution system in Canada and to increase the effectiveness, safety, and dependability of natural gas.
Some Innovations & Key Developments About Smart Gas Meter
- Revelo launched electric meters with ad-libbed lattice detection innovation in January 2020.
- Itron released a 4G LTE smart metering system that offers minimal inactivity and intelligibility in an organization using 4G LTE developments and a wide coverage area in January 2020.
- Nexmeter Green was developed in collaboration between InRete, Aliplast, and the Pietro Fiorentini Company created in 2019. NexMeter was the Hera Group’s first 4.0 meter, designed to be increasingly mindful of safety and consumption issues.
- FLONIDAN launched ultrasonic smart gas meter. The first product is designed for the UK smart meter market.
- The Indian Government launched the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) in 2021, under which 25 crore smart prepaid meters will be deployed till March 2025.
Conclusion
Owing to the prevailing demand for connected devices, smart gas meter can connect with other devices such as sensor for optimization of data resources. For communication with such devices along with recording enhanced data and examining customer use trends, smart distribution grids (SDG) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) are being developed for more efficiency. Smart meter firms may have the opportunity to work with the government to develop the right foundational infrastructure for the efficient distribution of gas to residential, commercial, and industrial spaces as a result of new legislation, initiatives, and innovations for smart city projects. Digitalization and automation are expected to be trend setter technologies globally, which, in turn, increase the demand for smart gas meters. Owing to their capacity to offer real-time insights on power consumption, they are progressively taking the place of conventional meters. Presently, smart meters are installed in the majority of buildings, whether they are public or private. They are now fundamental elements of contemporary smart grid systems. Overall, the smart gas meters are anticipated to grow at a significant pace in the coming years.