Besides analysing domestic
consumption patterns with smart meters, Oviedo has
implemented remote management of major consumers
and the control by sector of the consumption
of its distribution network
G u e s t
c o l u m n
Alfonso Tomás, manager of the Service in Oviedo, with the city’s mayor Agustín Caunedo.
an electronic sphere which incorporates
two-way communication via field-bus. All of
this makes it possible to obtain, store, and
process a large volume of data provided by
the hydraulic part of its integrated micro-
processor and learn not just the amount,
but also how and when water is consumed
in a home.
The smart meter pilot plan involved the
installation of these innovative devices at
the homes which were considered to be
statistically representative, located in the
metropolitan area, occupied, with an indi-
vidual meter, an average water expense,
and without a deposit or an interior water
pressure group.
The information recorded by each of the
devices is extracted periodically by means
of the Portable Meter Reading Terminals.
These data are then downloaded and pro-
cessed with specialised software installed
in our offices which provides detailed re-
ports on the hours of consumption, maxi-
mum and minimum flows, number of the
meter’s effective starts, incidence reports
by type – leakages in interior installations
or magnetic fraud, and dates, hours and
times of flow, histograms, etc.
Conclusions of the study
After five years of continuous work, one of
the key results of the study was that the
most commonplace instant flow consu-
med in Oviedo’s homes was between 300
and 700/litres/ hour 66% of the time, and
less than 300 litres/hour 26% of the time.
