Battery Selection - A Vital Element In The Success Of AMR Projects

摘要

Why is correct battery selection vital to the success of AMR (automated meter reading) projects in the gas industry? Currently, meter manufacturers and their customers are pushing for AMR systems designed to last longer and longer. In fact, unless local certification rules say otherwise, they are now looking for maintenance-free meters, equipped with batteries that last accordingly. Where battery lifetimes of five to 10 years were once considered as entirely satisfactory, the envelope is being extended to 15 to 20 years, even in the most demanding environmental conditions.rnFurthermore, new developments in AMR -such as the advent of A MM (automated meter management) deployments with two-way, realtime, communication between utilities and their customers - place an ever increasing demand on the batteries that power the new generation of "smart" meters. So now, rather than having to supply pulses of just a few mil-liamps to support radio communication over a distance of a few meters, the battery might have to sustain a much higher level of performance to supply a couple of amps to power a GPRS transceiver.