Prepaid Water Meters

Prepaid Smart Card Water Meters

System Description

The system is based on the principle that the water consumptions are calculated, and consumers are charged accordingly in advance. Consumers spend the amount of water loaded from credit sales offices by loading the credit to water meters via smart cards. The water meter cuts off the water by closing its valve when the credit ends, but when the consumer re-loads the spare credit in smart card to the water meter, the valve will re-open. Spare credits function allow consumers to use water until they re-load the smart card.

The counter of the water meter may be observed both from mechanical and electronic displays. Electronic display shows information about loaded credit, total credit, total water consumption, credit unit prize, the interference state and the battery level. Subscribers are able to load extra credits from credit loading points, so called (Kiosks) outside working hours.

Usage of Smart Cards also enables the credit sales control points to be aware of water meters battery level,interference states, period, degrees and tariffs. The new tariffs and period information in the smart card are regularly updated on every credit load operation. Having loaded the updated information to the smart card, the water meter easily reads the carried information, and updates itself.

In case of interference, water meter closes the valve and cuts off water consumption. The officers of local administrations resets the function of water meter by using authorized cards, otherwise water meter will remain in its passive state even if it has loaded credits. Each water meter has its own smartcard which may only be operated on assigned meter.

Software

The software is carefully designed by our software engineers to satisfy all the needs of local administrations. It provides reports such as; Invoice Records Report, Subscriber Reports, Detailed Water Meter Report.

Baylan Water Meter Management System is designed flexible to work with the current software that the public works use. The sales unit communication features are combined in a DLL library.

The current software used in the public works may easily integrate with Baylan Water Meter Management System by using this library. The software that the public works use creates a job orders so Baylan Water Meter Management System tops up the customer card with the desired amount of credit. The current management software used by the public works may perform the realization and collection steps while Baylan Water Meter Management System may perform the actual credit sales. Acting independant from the current software Baylan Water Meter Management System can perform also the money collection. A common integration study may be completed with the software company of the water works.

Smart Card

All the operations based on customers are made with the customer card. When assigned, all the customer specific information such as tariffs, emergency credit, critical credit are copied to the customer card. When the water meter reads the card, all this information is downloaded to the water meter.

Customers can top up credit to their water meters by using this card. Water meter transfers all the information and its current state to the main center by the customer card. The central system receives all the information such as (battery level, alert states, consumption index, recent credit loading date) when the customer card is read at the vending point.

In the same time if the step and tariff information needs to be updated in the water meter, simply the customer card is updated. When the water meter runs out of credit, customer may load the emergency credit by exposing the card to the meter once mor.

Customers may sign their customer cards as drawback card at the vending points if desired.

By this way the credit loaded from the water meter to the customer card. The drawback operation shuts off the valve of the water meter if desired by the customer.

Continuous water consumption request dates, maximum flow limit, maximum consumption date, valve shut off date if customer desires to shut off the valve on a specified date, and fire service, are all carried to the water meter by the customer card.