Advanced Metering Infrastructure: Drivers and Benefits in the Water Industry

摘要

Advanced Metering Infrastructure, or AMI, has become somewhat of a buzz word in the water industry over the last few years and it's being adopted more and more by water utilities under pressure to increase efficiency. With re cent advancements in AMI technology, it's not hard to see the attraction. Before embarking on a discussion of AMI technology, it's important to understand the difference between AMR and AMI, as the terms are often confused. AMR, or Automatic Meter Reading, is essentially a step up from a human being walking over to a water meter, reading the numbers, and writing them down. Rather, a device automatically pings the meter to get a current reading, which is used to generate a bill. AMR systems can be walk-by, drive-by, or fixed network, but regardless of how the meter is read, the communication is one-way. The meter talks to the meter-reading device, but the device cannot send a command back to the meter.