Rotation system with two antennas covers a large area with many meters

Energo Metan d.o.o. has more than 7000 gas connections, of which approximately 6000 are equipped with radio data transmission equipment. The gas meters are equipped with Wireless M-Bus modules which are sending the consumption data to the Holosys central unit. For this reason, the rotor system is perfect as an upgrade when utilities have already integrated the Wireless M-Bus modules on the meters. The client’s wish was to set up an AMR solution with as little equipment as possible, which would collect data from as many meters as possible in a wider geographical area.

To do so, our engineers have developed a solution by combining two types of antennas on a rotor system. The first one is an omnidirectional antenna that has a shorter range but constantly receives the signal. The other one is a directional antenna with a long range but narrow radius. The antennas are mounted on a rotating system, thus allowing both antennas to collect more data together from a larger area than each antenna would do separately. This solution means less infrastructure, lower costs and, of course, ensures the highest quality of data collecting.

Components used in this solution are the utility meters with mounted Wireless M-Bus modules, the HoloSphere central unit, directional antenna, omnidirectional antenna and the rotation system.

Continuous data collection and readout delivery every hour

We have chosen three locations, Samoborka (silo for plaster processing), Klokočevec tower and Energo Metan central building, where it is possible to place antennas at a significant height that cover as large an area as possible. At each location of the rotating system, a central unit is installed that can receive readings from 10.000 meters and two antennas of different polarizations that rotate. The antennas rotate 1 degree within 1 minute, collect data from the gas meter all the time, do readouts every hour and send readouts to the system twice a day. More than enough to track the level of consumption and draw conclusions on how to optimize it.

For optimal operation of the complete system, we decided on two combinations of antennas at locations – either “2 directional antennas” or “1 directional-1 omnidirectional”. For example, in the central building there is a “1 directional-1 omnidirectional” antenna, and in the Samoborka building at a height of 40 meters there are two directional antennas that are vertically polarized. This system captures about 3.000 meters on an hourly reading and it is possible to capture readouts from gas meters up to 7 km away. The entire western part of the town of Samobor is covered by the third location, Klokočevac tower, which is 42 meters high.

Benefits in a time of gas crisis – better nomination of gas

All readouts go to HoloAMR, our software solution through which the user receives consumption data, as well as many more detailed information, depending on the client’s needs. HoloAMR is connected to the Energo Metan’s GIS system, so it is possible to see which devices have not been read on the geoportal. Based on these readouts, the Client can optimally nominate gas, which today is more important than ever, given the current challenges in the context of the gas crisis. In addition, HoloAMR has the option of automatically sending data to the regulatory agency HROTE (Croatian Energy Market Operator).

The implementation of Holosys solution resulted in many benefits for Energo Metan, with covering a large geographical area on a daily basis and the highest quality of gas nomination being the most obvious ones. The goal for 2022 is to connect 80% of gas meters to hourly readouts via the rotor system, and 20% to a walkby / driveby system, also one of the solutions from our rich portfolio.