Telemetry of heat cost allocators

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Due to the recent European regulations that oblige buildings with centralized heating to carry out an individualized measurement of the energy consumption of their radiators, a new need arises to achieve greater efficiency in this process. To achieve individualized measurement of the consumption of each home, in most cases it is necessary to install eitherheat cost allocators in each radiator (vertical installation) or a heating meter in the pipes that enter the home (horizontal installation). Both devices send the information via Wireless M-bus. To save the staff the trips to the installation, the market is evolving towards intelligent IoT systems that, through the existence of Wireless M-Bus concentrators, collect all the data periodically and transmit it to a server where it will be interpreted by a final platform.

Device: WebdynEasy W M-Bus 868MHz, wireless gateway for metering

Platform: FTP

The heating cost individualization aims to make users aware of their energy consumption by calculating their bills using their actual consumption. This consumption is calculated using devices that determine how much heat or cold is used inside each home. There are currently two main solutions available:

Individual thermal energy meters: individual thermal energy meters are installed. They are placed at the entrance of the houses and are used to measure the amount of heat or cold used directly using Wireless M-Bus. They are used in horizontal installations, and one meter is required for each dwelling.

Heating cost distribution devices: when it is economically feasible and technically possible to install individual meters, heat cost allocators are installed that are placed directly on the radiators. These measure the temperature difference between the radiator and the room and therefore calculate how much heat is used effectively using Wireless M-Bus as well. These devices are specially adapted to buildings with vertical circuits for hot water distribution.

Due to these characteristics, it is necessary to have a Wireless M-Bus concentrator that performs the data collection function in a smart and automated way. This concentrator must also have high penetration cellular connectivity to be able to transmit information to the cloud from facilities in meter rooms or maintenance rooms in large buildings, without losing coverage. In addition, to reduce maintenance costs and facilitate field deployment, it would be interesting if it had a battery and energy autonomy for years as well as IP protection against humidity.

The WebdynEasy W M-Bus 868MHz hub meets these and other requirements by being designed for wireless networks using Wireless M-Bus radio technology on the 868MHz frequency. Its main functions are autonomous data collection from M-Bus wireless meters or sensors. The ease of plug & play installation and remote configuration via Bluetooth BLE allows for immediate field efficiency. This new product works with a battery with autonomy of up to 10 years, with the possibility of also connecting to an external 12V current. For added security, it encrypts the data it collects and sends directly to an FTP. It allows its installation both on a DIN rail and on a wall, and has IP67 protection, which makes it resistant to dust, wind, rain, and other adverse elements in case of being installed outdoors. Its small size makes it ideal for installation in limited spaces where conventional equipment does not fit.

The WebdynEasy W M-Bus 868MHz collects all the information from the heat cost allocators at its fingertips via Wireless M-Bus, stores the data and sends it to the cloud via LTE-M1 in the established connection windows. The data is sent to an FTP server so that the final platform can use it for cost distribution.

Solar self-consumption in a supermarket

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When we face a large solar energy self-consumption installation, the main challenge for its success is to be able to monitor all its devices and to act on them to achieve what we call “zero injection”. This case study consists on controlling the installation by sizing the energy production to fully supply the building (in this case a large supermarket) without suffering an excess of energy that must be poured into the electricity grid.

Device: WebdynsunPM, industrial gateway for Solar Energy

Platform: Any Solar Energy platform

In this kind of large-scale installations, it is especially important to be able to independently read any inverter brand and to communicate with them in order to size the energy production to achieve “zero injection” if necessary. It is also important to be able to control as many inverters as possible, which will allow us to reduce costs. In addition, the installation sensors and the submetering meter should also be monitored with the same connectivity equipment. Finally, it is also important that the information collected by our communication and control devices can communicate in a transparent way with any Solar Energy control platform.

In order to meet these requirements, our proposal for this kind of facility is the WebdynSun PM gateway specialized in Solar Energy. Thanks to its features, all the data from a solar installation can be monitored with a single device.

  • Through its digital or analog inputs it can measure the records of the environmental sensors (temperature, sunlight intensity, wind speed…).
  • Thanks to its modbus interface it can communicate, with a single gateway, with up to 100 inverters of the main brands on the market.
  • Being specialized in Solar Energy, the WebdynSun PM model allows to act on the inverters in case of energy overproduction to avoid injection into the grid and thus achieving “zero injection”.
  • Through its RS485 modbus inputs we can obtain the submetering counter readings.
  • It works independently with any end platform on the market, without the need to change the installation depending on the management company.

By having the entire installation monitored through a single gateway, its management is simplified and costs are reduced. Furthermore, as it is a device that works independently with the main inverter and end-platform brands, the profitability of the equipment is maximized by not having to change it depending on the different elements of the solution.

Water Monitoring in Rural Environments

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When it comes to getting the most out of an agricultural facility, one of the main challenges is to be able to monitor and control them remotely, being able to obtain all the information on water quality as well as being able to control consumption and act, remotely, about the water pumps. This challenge becomes even greater if we take into account that some of the facilities will be in poor coverage environments, which is why a solution that provides connectivity security is essential in order to reduce travel, thus increasing the efficiency of the facility.

Device: MTX-Router-EOS, compact industrial IoT router with LTE, dual SIM and 3x Ethernet

Platform: Cervello Stem IoT Platform

The rural water monitoring project is usually made up of several elements. The first of these is the installation itself, which has different sensors that allow controlling water quality (conductivity, PH, temperature, etc.), consumption (flow, pressure, etc.) and a pump that works by extracting water when be necessary. On the other hand, an element is necessary that provides connectivity to the installation and that allows, remotely, to access all this information and act, if necessary, on the water pump. Finally, the last and essential element is an IoT platform where all data can be received and from where actions can be carried out on the devices of the set both automatically and manually. In the case study in which we find ourselves, we will solve these last two elements.

In order to provide connectivity to the installation, we must bear in mind that it is made up of various sensors and a water pump, all of them connected to a PLC which is the one that gathers all the information and allows action on the water pump. This PLC usually has an Ethernet output through which all data can be obtained. We must also take into account the special coverage and connectivity conditions that the facilities may have. Not surprisingly, these are installations in rural settings where coverage is poor or frequently fails. To solve all these requirements, the most suitable device would be an MTX-Router-EOS, since it has three Ethernet inputs (being able to connect up to three PLCs with the same device) and LTE/4G connectivity, in addition to dual SIM (being able if necessary, to use two SIM cards from different operators to ensure connectivity in case of coverage failure). On the other hand, in rural environments or locations with little coverage, it is appropriate to use special antennas that allow the weak available LTE/4G radio frequency signals to be amplified to the maximum. In these cases, the use of high gain omnidirectional fiberglass antennas or directional antennas of the panel or yagi type is suitable.

Finally, the Cervello Stem IoT platform allows the information received from the PLC to be received, stored and displayed on different dashboards (with tables and graphs). In addition, Cervello can send commands and setting parameters to the PLC, being able to act remotely on the operation of the water pump. All of this two-way communication is done through the MTX-Router-EOS.

Thanks to this solution, based on an MTX device with LTE/4G connectivity and three Ethernet interfaces, which also provides reliable connectivity with its dual SIM and the use of an external high-gain LTE/4G omnidirectional antenna, monitoring and water management in rural settings is much simpler and, above all, efficient. Thanks to IoT technology, trips to remote facilities in rural settings are avoided, facilitating their management and reducing maintenance and operating costs.

Monitoring of the Electrical Network

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The monitoring of the electrical network is a typical industrial IoT solution in which the advantages of the new smart IoT devices are used to detect failures in the power supply. Thanks to the early detection of electrical problems, bigger problems are avoided through rapid and effective action. This happens thanks to the collection of real-time information on fault indicators with smart modems that transmit the information through LTE/4G. This case study is based on an actual project in the Southeast Asia Pacific (APAC) area.

Device: MTX-IoT-S, 4G programmable IoT modem with 8x digital I/Os, 2x ADC and battery

Platform: Cervello IoT Platfotm / Owner IoT Platfotm

In these cases, the maintenance manager needs to know in real time, the status of each of the critical points. To do this, several fault indicators are used. These devices contain an internal relay that opens when the sensor detects ground faults or short circuits. In case of detection, the internal relay opens and sends a digital fault signal. Once the fault has been signaled, an external relay is required to reset the device to return to the initial monitoring point.

This solution needs a device with the greatest number of digital inputs possible (in order to monitor more than one fault indicator), a battery so that the communications equipment continues to function in the event of a power failure, control of the relays to perform the reset of the fault indicator, and an industrial box with DIN rail mounting, to be able to install it easily. Due to this list of requirements, the ideal MTX device for this solution is the MTX-IoT-S modem, which has 8 digital inputs, DIN rail mounting, and the possibility of including an internal battery directly in the modem box. To cover the need of relays control, our development department made some modifications to the hardware and firmware, adapting the standard equipment to match the requirements of the solution perfectly.

The description of the operation of the solution would be: the fault indicator contains an internal relay that is closed. In the event of a network failure, the sensor detects it and opens the internal relay. This change is detected by the MTX-IoT-S modem through one of its digital inputs, which sends a specific frame through MQTTs to the management platform. An automatic trigger activates one of the relays of the MTX-IoT-S that returns the fault tndicator to its initial state, leaving it ready to continue with the monitoring.
Since the sending of frames is done through MQTTs, the MTX-IoT-S is compatible both with an integral solution using the Cervello IoT platform, and with a solution in which the management platform is provided by the company that is in charge of monitoring the power grid.

Thanks to the bidirectional communication, it is possible to act directly on the fault indicators from the platform with the discretionary activation of the MTX-IoT-S relay, allowing the devices to restart. Also, both from Cervello IoT Platform and from the client’s proprietary platform, Device Manager management can be carried out, knowing the status of all deployed devices and being able to perform remote management tasks such as firmware updates or configurations.

Thanks to this intelligent solution for monitoring the electrical network, the energy supply maintenance concession companies can have real-time information on the status of the grid, detecting faults and breakdowns at the very moment they happen, significantly improving the overall state of the network and carrying out a more efficient maintenance.