Water
Wired meter reading
Sustainability
The homeowners' association, which consists of 340 apartments located in Ishøj, in the suburbs of Copenhagen, wanted to carry out meter readings and prepare the annual water bill themselves. This meant they wanted a meter reading solution  that was easy, fast and reliable – which would save time and make daily routines easier. They found all that in READy – ,  and more.
"I'm extremely positively surprised about just how effective READy is. Concrete is no bother, and it reads all of the meters 100%. We don't even have to stand in the stairwell, so it's a really great tool for our work."

 
Henrik Hansen, Senior Caretaker in Gildbroterrasserne Homeowners' Association.

Reliable billing solution

When Gildbroterrasserne Homeowners' Association was at the point where it had to replace its worn-out mechanical water meters, they quickly found their  way to Kamstrup, the leading supplier of intelligent water meters. The homeowners' association's board members and its senior caretaker were further convinced by Kamstrup's solution, when the remote meter reading app, called READy, was demonstrated to them.

READy ensures very efficient readings of water meters. The system also detects leaks very quickly. This means resources are not wasted, and residents are warned in time, before water bills soar.
Previously, it took six people three evenings to read the meters, and the same amount of time was needed to process the reading cards afterwards. Now all it requires is less than ten minutes' walk around the apartment buildings.

The data from each meter is transferred automatically to the homeowners' association's IT system. The remote reading system also has a leak alarm, which will trigger with even the smallest of leaks, such as constantly running toilets or leaking taps.

Full benefit from READy

On the day's walk using READy, it took less than ten minutes to read the 240 MULTICAL 21 water meters currently installed in the 10 apartment buildings. An immediate benefit was the discovery of a leak in an older resident's apartment, which turned out to be an excessive consumption of two cubic metres of water over four days. In round figures, the leak was equivalent to an extra bill of EUR 15 for the resident.

A small amount, but it could have been many times greater, if it had not been for the leak alarm. Without the remote reading system, the amount could easily have wrecked the monthly budget for many families.

Some of the previous leak discoveries have demonstrated exactly this. For example, during a test of READy, the system discovered an additional consumption in one apartment of 136 cubic metres over 40 days, equivalent to DKK 6,500.

After the day's walk, Henrik Hansen contacts the apartment resident to find out the source of the leak and stop the waste of water. In this way, READy works as an efficient service tool, helping to ensure customers avoid getting an unexpectedly expensive extra bill.
"As a minimum, we read the meters once a month to get data. In this way, we ensure that any leaks are discovered very early. Prior to the remote reading system, we just didn't discover smaller leaks in residents' apartments until we carried out the annual reading," explains Henrik Hansen.

The solution

10 apartment buildings – 340 owner-occupied apartments, Copenhagen
  • 350 MULTICAL 21 cold water meters
  • 340 MULTICAL 21  hot water meters
  • 10 flowIQ 3100
  • READy remote reading
  • Leak alarm 
Project period: 2014 - 2016