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The DLMS UA has released its Water Smart Meter Generic Companion Profile (GCP) on secure and interoperable data exchange across water smart devices and systems.
The profile defines the technical, functional and security requirements of smart water meters within the DLMS/COSEM framework along with clear guidelines for implementation and certification.
As such it is set to be the first standardised data model and format for water meter data exchange to be adopted by the IEC, which should result through the expanded scope of the IEC TC 13, initially focussed on metering but now multi-energy.
The GCP – a recent approach pioneered by the DLMS UA to ensure interoperability across various use cases – is aimed to resolve some of the most pressing issues facing the water industry by defining a standardised data exchange model and format to ensure that devices from any manufacturer can communicate seamlessly.
View the launch webinar: Standardising data exchange for smarter water utilities
It incorporates essential data protection features under the DLMS/COSEM framework to safeguard sensitive consumption and operational data. It also offers efficiency, providing metrology relevant data with push message, pre-established clients, compact data frames and compression mechanisms to minimise battery consumption.
It also supports a standardised interoperability certification process that reduces the deployment complexity and risk.
In addition to device interoperability, the GCP operates independently of telecommunication technologies, ensuring secure, reliable, and interoperable data exchange across current and future networks.
It currently supports 4G/LTE-NB, LoRaWAN, LPWAN, Wireless M-Bus and the intention is to evolve and integrate additional communication technologies in the future.
Key use cases in the profile include on-demand meter reading, remote tariff programming, prepayment, alarm/event management and disconnection/reconnection.
The water smart meter GCP is the fifth such GCP to be developed by the DLMS UA. Previous GCPs have included the AC electricity smart meter, EV charging stations, remote displays and remote sensors.
Sergio Lazzarotto, president and executive director of the DLMS UA, says that the GCPs along with the certification are an important milestone in achieving device interoperability.
“Through the liaison with IEC we were able to expand the scope of TC 13 to go electricity smart metering to water smart metering.”
Further GCPs are in development, including for gas and edge data processing.
