Water meter delivers long-term accuracy for German water utility

Accurate meter readings are essential for a water utility’s ability to detect leaks and reduce non-revenue water. A German water utility, ESWE Versorgungs AG, tested to see how well their Sensus iPERL meter was holding up after operating for seven years in the harsh conditions at a bus washing facility. Here’s what they found out.

Busses are a vital part of the public transport system in Wiesbaden, a city in Southern Germany. Carrying over 61 million passengers per year, the bus fleet consists of 290 modern vehicles, with each bus utilizing advanced exhaust gas reduction and filtering equipment. The use of this technology greatly contributes to delivering sustainable, emissions-free public transport services across the region.

The conditions in the bus wash facility that keeps the fleet clean are very demanding for a water meter, due to the highly irregular flow, as well as the large amount of detergents to which the meter is constantly exposed. This proved to be the perfect environment for the local water utility, ESWE Versorgungs AG, to test the long-term performance and overall capabilities of iPERL, a static electromagnetic water meter from Sensus, a Xylem brand.

Smart water metering with iPERL

Unlike other solid-state meters, iPERL uses remanent magnetic field technology, which can measure flows as low as one liter per hour. It has an expected operational life of 15 years, with no need for meter calibration or replacement.

Thanks to its leakage detection capability, iPERL is an excellent solution for non-revenue water reduction and maintaining network integrity, resulting in more efficient and less wasteful water distribution.

Unparalleled water meter accuracy

At the bus washing facility in Wiesbaden, an accredited test laboratory examined the iPERL meter (size DN 20) every year to assess whether its measurement accuracy was being degraded by the demanding operational conditions.

The testing showed that the measurement accuracy of the iPERL meter did not deviate in a single test over seven years.

Even after being exposed to harsh conditions in the field, the iPERL error curve was not only within the traffic error limit, but also within the calibration error limits.

This means that the meter maintained a constant linear measurement accuracy that is similar to the initial error curve before the meter was deployed. The tests proved that iPERL maintains unparalleled measurement accuracy for at least seven years. With an operational life of 15 years, the iPERL meter can be expected to serve the water utility well for many years to come.

Learn more about iPERL

The iPERL smart water meter, with integrated bidirectional communication capabilities, is the foundation of any efficient water network. Download the iPERL brochure to learn more.