An internet-of-things-based smart water meter will be adopted by Seoul City to conveniently monitor and record tap water consumption at homes. Currently, government workers visit each house regularly to check and record water consumption regardless of weather conditions.
Smart water meters are automated remote metering devices that measure water usage to enable accurate billing. As of December 2021, about 350 water metermen are deployed in the capital city to inspect some two million water meters manually every month. Some 41,800 meters are automated.
Seoul said that the automated smart water meter will be adopted. By 2030, the smart solution will replace about 660,000 conventional analog meters, which account for 30 percent of the capital city's total water meters. The unmanned smart device will provide citizens with water usage data that is updated hourly. A total of 1.1 billion won ($870,000) will be injected to replace 7,600 devices in two districts in 2022. Smart meters will be demonstrated until 2030.
"While the conventional water meters only played the role of a tool used for billing, the new automated smart meter can provide new services such as the early detection of indoor water leakage and the collaboration through social safety networks," Seoul's waterwork bureau head Ku Ah-mi said in a statement on May 3.
