MILWAUKEE — Industry expert Howard Scott, Ph.D., worked to identify how long a water utility typically uses an AMR/AMI (automatic meter reading/advanced metering infrastructure) system before changing to a new one in a recent sponsored study, according to a press release.
The research revealed that water utilities change their meter reading systems at an average age of 8.2 years, which is significantly more often than the general referred life expectancy of 20 years for the meters, stated the release.
Since the first utility AMR deployment in the mid-1980s, The Scott Report has recorded around 11,000 projects involving 58.8 million water AMR/AMI units, reported the release.
The 30 years of data collected for The Scott Report provided the foundation for the new analysis, noted the release.
“These findings highlight the factors water utilities should consider and why it is important to plan for the true expected life of a new meter reading system,” said Badger Meter Director of Utility Marketing John Fillinger. “This will make a big difference in the financial evaluation involved with choosing a new system. Also, utilities should work with a partner that helps them evaluate and plan for the upgrade we now know they’ll almost certainly need to make around year 10.”
You can find the release here.
