Permanent (or fixed) network monitoring means deploying sensors (loggers) permanently in your water distribution network. The sensors continuously collect information about the pipe network and automatically send leak alarms to your control center for actioning. The systems can be standalone with their own radio transmission network (see ZONESCAN NBIOT or HISCAN below) or integrated into exisiting transmission infrastructure such as major AMI networks (see ZONESCAN AMI below).
The following criteria are important for any permanent network monitoring system to be effective:
- The ability to send the data from the sensors in the field directly to the control center without the need for a drive-by data collection or data download in the office.
- Be able to transmit enough data to the control room to eliminate non-leak noises (spectral analysis) and pinpoint the exact location of the leak (correlation technique). Simple noise logging is ineffective, and will allow most leaks to go undetected.
- Long enough battery life (at least 5 years) to avoid frequent manpower-intensive and expensive battery changes or system redeployment exercises.
ZONESCAN ALPHA, based on GUTERMANN's ZONESCAN 820 correlating radio loggers, is a fully automatic correlating distribution network monitoring system. ALPHA that allows the user to correlate, exclude false positives, pinpoint leaks to within 1 meter, retrieve historical data, and listen to leak sound remotely - all from the comfort of the office. No more undetected leaks, no more uncontrolled leak run-times, and no more digging "dry holes" after chasing non-leak noise.
ZONESCAN NB-IoT is the world’s first water leak detecting noise logger based on Narrowband Internet of Things (“NB-IoT”), the new LTE-based cellular communication standard optimised for machine-to-machine data communication in smart cities. It permanently monitors water distribution mains for new leaks, and provides a Correlation Indicator for advanced filtering and leak identification in the Gutermann Cloud. As the successor to ALPHA, NB-IoT is a fully automatic and correlating distribution network monitoring system. Correlate, exclude false positives, pinpoint leaks to within 1 metre, retrieve historical data, and listen to leak sound from the comfort of the office. ZONESCAN NB-IoT is also the world's first correlating leak logger to feature user-replaceable batteries, which means no more sending loggers back to our factory for routine check-ups.
GUTERMANN’s ZONESCAN AMI correlating loggers can be wire-connected to AMI systems. These systems have the capacity to automate the collection, retrieval, and analysis of acoustic data recorded by the ZONESCAN sensors. Thanks to a two-way communication within the AMI network, the sound data is recorded in a time-synchronised manner, then automatically transmitted to the GUTERMANN CLOUD servers for further analysis and reporting.
Permanent trunk main and transmission main monitoring is becoming an increasing focus for utilities. While the technological challenge of monitoring trunk mains is much greater than for monitoring distribution mains, wet-tapping leak detection sensors into the water main solves the problem of sound transmission through large diameter pipe. HISCAN is a permanently installed leak monitoring system, designed specifically for trunk mains, that is both highly sensitive (uses correlating hydrophone sensors) and able to work independently for at least 5 years (using solar power for its data gateways). The data is automatically sent to the GUTERMANN CLOUD daily, allowing utilities to pinpoint leaks and investigate them remotely.
