The fast access to information and the speed with which data reaches to decision makers is one of the main factors of our times. This brings every person, business or industry, several steps ahead of others. In order to be competitive, everyone strives to ensure this valued information stream so that they can analyze the data as quickly as possible and to make appropriate and timely decisions for development of their own activities and businesses.
Nowadays, the resource calculation is extremely valuable, on one hand for its better management, on the other hand – it contributes to a more economical consumption, which also has a beneficial effect on the environment.
When we talk about adding speed to access data and improving the administration of the electricity and water consumption, we must inevitably mention the serious investment for implementation of modern technologies, like smart metering systems. (intelligent measurement system). Not every business entity can afford such an investment. This confronts them with the difficulties of outdated methods of measurement and administration of meters and inevitably leads to losses.
Arista Retrofit system is a budget solution by ADD Bulgaria, through which you can update the existing infrastructure and get all benefits of modern methods for data measurement and analysis, but at an affordable price, which will make the metering process more efficient and optimized.
Navigation links:
- The challenge in the distribution of resources
- Intelligent measuring device (Smart Meter)
- ADD Bulgaria – efficiency at its best
- What is Arista Retrofit and how does it work?
- Application example with marinas
- Arista Retrofit Hardware
- Arista Retrofit Central Management Software
- Benefits of Arista Retrofit
- Application of Arista Retrofit
The challenge in the distribution of resources
Owners of large retail outlets, concessionaires of marinas, campsites, etc., often have difficulties in appropriate distribution of resources such as electricity or water consumption among their tenants and renters. At the same time, it is important to know how much customers consume in order to provide a quality and secure service to consumers. Invoicing should not be questioned and any consumption should be accurately reported. In classic infrastructures, the administrator performs the reporting of data on consumed resources manually, which in our hectic life, takes too much time, decrease service quality and can not provide data on the the device reliability. That is why innovation provides us with a new method for calculation of consumed resources, using intelligent meters, thanks to which everything can be done remotely and in real time.
Intelligent measuring device (Smart Meter)
The smart meter is an electronic device that measures, stores and sends information about parameters such as electricity consumption, voltage, current and power values and others. Smart meters transfer information to the user for more accuracy of consumption behavior, and electricity suppliers can more easily monitor the system and invoice customers consumption. Smart meters measure data in real time and periodically, reading values at short intervals throughout the day. They allow two-way communication between the meter and the central system. Such an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) differs from automatic meter reading (AMR) in that it allows two-way communication between the meter and the supplier. Communication between the smart meter to the network can be wireless or via wired connections, such as a power line communication (PLC).
Despite the incontestable benefits of the smart metering system, it still requires a serious upfront investment for complete replacement of outdated infrastructure.
Therefore ADD Bulgaria provides a solution Arista Retrofit, which upgrades the existing infrastructure, providing all the benefits of intelligent measurement of resources, with significantly less initial investment.
ADD Bulgaria – efficiency at its best
Based on its long-standing experience in the area of intelligent systems for remote measurement and management of resources in the energy and industrial sector, ADD Bulgaria understands the needs for an economical solution for optimizing the processes of management, measuring and monitoring of resources. That is why the company developed ARISTA technology – a new generation software and hardware solution for remote, intelligent control and monitoring of devices – Arista Retrofit.
What is Arista Retrofit and how does it work?
Application example with marinas
Arista Retrofit is an intelligent and cost-efficient solution for remote measurement, control and monitoring of consumption. It is designed to meet the requirements of customers who are looking for budget solutions for remote meter data collection, but at the same time want to have an advanced and automated process, which will make them more competitive. The system can be easily integrated into the existing measuring infrastructure of the site. The only requirements is that the single and three-phase electricity meters, and the water meters have a pulse output, through which the consumption of electricity and water is read by the controller(measuring device).
Arista Retrofit Hardware
For the purposes of the telemetry system, a measuring device (LC field controller) is installed in each of the power supply columns (pedestals) of the marina. LC collects the information from the meters by reading their digital outputs. It reports the pulses at each input and stores them in a non-volatile memory. In case of communication interruption, the controller stores the data in the internal memory for up to 25 days, using a built-in battery. The controller indicates the inputs status, power supply and RF communication via LED indicators on the front panel. LC performs self-diagnosis and remote firmware update. LC sends the collected information (read pulses) to ARISTA Central Management Softwarevia Arista Gateway. Arista Gateway provides two-way communication between the installed LC field controllers in each pedestal and the Arista CMS.
Arista Retrofit Central Management Software
ARISTA Central Management Software can be applied to any type of existing metering infrastructure (electricity, water, gas and other resources). The readings from the measuring devices are processed and transferred to the central software, where they are stored, analyzed and visualized in a user-friendly web interface. The software generates reports for consumption for different periods. If there is a deviation, the system automatically generates a notification (e-mail notification) to the authorized users about the event. Infrastructure monitoring is performed in real time, and the notification of unexpected events is generated and sent immediately. In this way, the users can perform a quick analysis of the events and can determine the exact location of the problem. This optimizes the process and maintenance.
Benefits of Arista Retrofit
Upgrading the existing infrastructure with Arista Retrofit devices, in addition to saving investment funds, optimizes the process of administration and monitoring of marinas such as:
- Puts an end to the delayed reporting of consumption at sites such as marinas, campsite, business and commercial sites, industrial areas, etc.;
- Saves investment for the construction of a new infrastructure;
- Measures remotely already installed equipment, which is not yet scheduled for replacement;
- Automatically monitors all devices, stores their data and behavior, and notifies managers of unauthorized activity, unexpected events, and system failures;
- Maintains a database;
In this way, the administrators of the different types of sites can meet the requirements of the users for immediate and accurate service. The workflow is optimized and it is much easier to bill for the exact consumption of resources.
In addition, the software allows analysis and monitoring of each device, providing information about its operational status. This facilitates maintenance of the infrastructure and prevents losses from non-working devices.
Thanks to the Arista Retrofit system, it is easy to detect unregulated consumption and take the necessary actions to stop such practice.
On the one hand, all these advantages make the business profitable and competitive, on the other hand – the rating of the marina, campsites and retail outlets is increasing, and this is attracting more and more customers.
Application of Arista Retrofit
Arista Retrofit is suitable for different types of businesses and sites of public-private matter. Application can be found in marinas, campsites, commercial and business buildings, industrial areas and more.
- Marina management – The organization of activities depends on the management of each marina, but most often pedestals are passed over and measured at the same time every day by marina employees. This does not mean that administrators will make daily check-ups of electricity and water meters, but only record the data from them. In this way, it is difficult to determine on time that a device is not measuring correctly or that there is any other damage. Delayed removing of such problem leads to losses and in a large percentage of cases – to dissatisfied customers. And this is not in favor of any business.
- Camping management The management of campings is similar to that of marinas, as the concessionaire of the site provides places and opportunity for all users/clients to connect to the infrastructure and to have access to water and electricity supply. In this type of sites the organization and efficiency of administrators is of great importance. In standard conditions this could often lead to mistakes in reporting consumption, due to the business dynamics. In the active season, damage to the measuring instruments that are not identified in time, would lead to huge losses.
- Commercial and business buildings – on the principle of commercial and business buildings, industrial sites have a huge problem in the allocation of resource consumption to different users. Especially, considering that in this type of areas, the consumption of resources is huge due to the buildings size and the type of their activities. Incorrect measures or damaged devices could cost huge losses. Therefore, real-time monitoring, offered by Arista Retrofit, would optimize the process of managing and maintaining the metering infrastructure of these huge sites.
- Industrial sites – on the principle of commercial and business buildings, industrial sites have a huge problem in the allocation of resource consumption to different users. Especially, considering that in this type of areas, the consumption of resources is huge due to the buildings size and the type of their activities. Incorrect measures or damaged devices could cost huge losses. Therefore, real-time monitoring, offered by Arista Retrofit, would optimize the process of managing and maintaining the metering infrastructure of these huge sites.
Arista Retrofit – the intelligent economical solution for measuring resources
In the last years, almost every industry have focused on more careful use of resources. Тhis saves consumers money, but most importantly, it saves resources in the environment.
Arista Retrofit is a solution that allows switching to intelligent metering and resource monitoring with a relatively small investment. In this way, the possibility for consumption optimization and damage elimination time has become available to a broad type of businesses, and this brings added value to the product and service.
