Abstract
We present a new, open source, computationally capable datalogger for collecting and analyzing high temporal resolution residential water use data. Using this device, execution of water end use disaggregation algorithms or other data analytics can be performed directly on existing, analog residential water meters without disrupting their operation, effectively transforming existing water meters into smart, edge computing devices. Computation of water use summaries and classified water end use events directly on the meter minimizes data transmission requirements, reduces requirements for centralized data storage and processing, and reduces latency between data collection and generation of decision-relevant information. The datalogger couples an Arduino microcontroller board for data acquisition with a Raspberry Pi computer that serves as a computational resource. The computational node was developed and calibrated at the Utah Water Research Laboratory (UWRL) and was deployed for testing on the water meter for a single-family residential home in Providence City, UT, USA. Results from field deployments are presented to demonstrate the data collection accuracy, computational functionality, power requirements, communication capabilities, and applicability of the system. The computational node’s hardware design and software are open source, available for potential reuse, and can be adapted to specific research needs.
Highlights
Commercial “smart” or “intelligent” metering systems promise remote recording of water use at high temporal resolution with the potential for creating decision-relevant information for both water providers and consumers
We developed the computational node as part of a larger effort aimed at developing Cyberinfrastructure for Intelligent Water Supply (CIWS)
The functions provide an interface to serial peripheral interface (SPI) bus transactions, universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART) transactions, powering the Raspberry Pi computer on and off, and updating system information based on data in a “report”
Summary
Commercial “smart” or “intelligent” metering systems promise remote recording of water use at high temporal resolution with the potential for creating decision-relevant information (e.g., autonomously created reports and summary data products) for both water providers and consumers. The capability to transmit raw data and/or processed data products over the Internet to a remote server This required: (1) substantial new work on an entirely new hardware design that couples an Arduino-based data collection device with a Raspberry Pi computer to enable both data collection and edge computing capabilities; (2) addition of communication capabilities to enable transmission/telemetry of collected and/or processed data; (3) an innovative power control circuit design to enable low-power operation of tandem data collection and computational/communication devices; (4) an entirely new printed circuit board (PCB) design for manufacturing the computational node device; (5) an entirely new software design for the computational component that enables data recording, execution of arbitrary data processing code, and transmission of recorded data and/or processed results; and (6) a new case study using a water end use disaggregation and classification algorithm executed on the node and field test the demonstrates successful deployment to the field. The Data Availability section provides a link where readers can find: (1) hardware designs for the computational node along with instructions for building a prototype device using off-the-shelf components, including performing all of the hardware modifications; (2) a PCB design with all information required to manufacture them commercially; (3) firmware code along with more detailed documentation about the organization and functioning of the firmware; and (4) data and scripts to reproduce calculations presented in the Case Study Application section of this paper
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