A smart meter is not simply a new type of meter, but a technology platform that integrates metering, communication and data management, designed to operate in the field for many years. From this perspective, metrological accuracy and remote radio communication are essential requirements, but they are not enough: utilities need solutions that can deliver consistent performance over time, evolve alongside water and telecommunications networks, adapt to regulatory requirements and meet their operational needs, while protecting and maximising the value of the initial investment.
Field experience drives innovation
This is the approach behind ElecTo SONIC, Maddalena’s ultrasonic smart meter, which has surpassed 500,000 installed units.
A milestone that goes beyond commercial figures: it reflects the field experience gained by a technology used every day by a growing number of utilities. This experience is what drives its continuous evolution, turning operational needs identified in the field into new features and increasingly advanced performance.
ONE PLATFORM, MULTIPLE TECHNOLOGIES
Different metering technologies.
One digital experience.
The experience gained with ElecTo SONIC continues to drive the development of the ElecTo (Electronic Totalizer) platform, now also adopted by Maddalena across other metering technologies, such as ElecTo MVM and ElecTo SJ. This approach allows utilities to choose different metering principles while maintaining continuity across the digital platform and its functionalities.
In ElecTo SONIC, these principles have been translated into specific design choices aimed at ensuring metering stability, mechanical robustness, operational continuity and data availability throughout the meter’s entire lifecycle.
The ultrasonic measuring principle enables consumption to be measured without any moving mechanical components and helps maintain stable metering performance over time, with no deterioration due to product ageing. The brass body also ensures high mechanical robustness under varying installation conditions, while the high and constant sampling rate, both day and night, combined with IP68 certification for up to 1,440 hours, enhances the meter’s ability to withstand demanding field conditions, including environments subject to flooding.
The communication system has been designed according to the same reliability-driven approach: the separate multiband antenna maximises signal radiation and improves transmission performance, while the NFC interface provides quick access to configuration and local diagnostics. The integrated data logger, capable of collecting data for over twenty years, also provides utilities with a valuable source of information for statistical analysis, consumption monitoring and a better understanding of how the network evolves over time.
To maximise battery life in LoRaWAN and NB-IoT configurations, Maddalena has implemented the latest versions of communication standards and state-of-the-art hardware components, optimised for both transmission performance and power consumption. Battery life thus becomes the result of an integrated design approach, consistent with the goal of ensuring operational continuity and reliability throughout the smart meter’s entire lifecycle.
Truly scalable multi-protocol communication
The sector is progressively shifting from an AMR (Automatic Meter Reading) model, based on short-range radio readings primarily used for billing purposes, to an AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) model, where data is collected daily via long-range technologies and becomes a valuable tool for monitoring and managing water resources.
In this scenario, each utility can choose the infrastructure best suited to its specific context, primarily LoRaWAN or NB-IoT. However, relying on a single communication channel can create dependency on a fixed network, often managed by third parties, which may be affected by outages, technological changes, decommissioning or contractual changes over the meter’s lifetime.
For this reason, ElecTo SONIC integrates a secondary Wireless M-Bus link even in long-range architectures, providing a true fallback strategy. While the LoRaWAN + Wireless M-Bus combination is now widely available on the market, the NB-IoT + Wireless M-Bus fallback configuration is a distinctive feature of Maddalena’s solution, designed to protect the investment and ensure continuous access to data even in the event of issues with the primary network.
A significant example is the recent project carried out with Acque Bresciane, which led to the installation of over 36,000 ElecTo SONIC meters as part of its water network digitalisation programme. This successful project confirms the platform’s reliability even in large-scale deployments.
DESIGNED TO EVOLVE
The true value of a smart meter lies in its ability to evolve over time
The experience gained from over half a million installations continues to drive the evolution of ElecTo SONIC, with new features developed to meet the evolving operational needs of utilities.
Key enhancements currently available include:
- metrological certification up to R1000, further improving accuracy at low flow rates;
- MID-certified reverse flow measurement, enabling the detection and measurement of any reverse flows;
- availability in MID Accuracy Class 1 for applications requiring higher metrological performance;
- T70 temperature class, available on request;
- bacterial growth alarm, based on water temperature monitoring to detect and signal conditions that may favour bacterial growth;
- NB-IoT interface with Wireless M-Bus over NB-IoT communication protocol (EN 13757-8:2023) and Wireless M-Bus fallback, a distinctive feature compared with NB-IoT-only solutions available on the market, designed to ensure continuous access to data even if the primary network is unavailable.
For utilities, this means access to even more reliable data, improved billing accuracy, timely detection of anomalies, and increasingly advanced tools for network management.
READY FOR THE FUTURE
New regulatory requirements, new features, the same reliability
Innovation also extends to materials intended to come into contact with drinking water. The evolving European regulatory framework introduced by the Drinking Water Directive (EU Directive 2020/2184) is setting increasingly stringent requirements for the safety and compliance of materials used in water supply networks.
To address these evolving requirements, ElecTo SONIC is also available in a lead-free brass version, with a lead content below 0.1%, providing utilities with a solution already designed to meet future regulatory requirements while helping protect the value of their investment over the long term.
A roadmap for continuous innovation
Surpassing 500,000 installations is not an endpoint, but a solid foundation for continued innovation. The ElecTo SONIC roadmap includes further developments aimed at expanding interoperability and communication protocols, diagnostic capabilities, remote management and integration with utilities’ digital ecosystems, reinforcing Maddalena’s commitment to the continuous evolution of the platform.
At the same time, Maddalena is completing a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study in preparation for the publication of an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD), which will be available soon and will provide utilities with transparent, verified environmental information covering the product’s entire life cycle.
Innovation means ensuring continuity
In the water sector, a meter remains part of the network for many years. This is why the true value of a smart meter lies not only in the performance it delivers today, but also in its ability to evolve over time.
With over 500,000 ElecTo SONIC meters installed, Maddalena confirms the strength and reliability of its offering in the ultrasonic smart meter segment. The experience gained in the field continues to drive the evolution of the ElecTo platform, now also available across the MVM and SJ product families, giving utilities the freedom to choose the metering technology best suited to their needs while benefiting from a common, stable and continuously evolving digital platform.
Metering technologies may differ. Utilities’ needs evolve over time. The digital platform supporting them must ensure continuity, reliability and the ability to evolve alongside their networks. This is the vision driving the development of ElecTo SONIC and, more broadly, the entire ElecTo platform.
