Technologies behind AMR-based meters - Xenius Prepaid Meters
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Smart prepayment meter
Technologies behind AMR-based meters
AMR systems, meant to obtain energy-consumption data from the user’s end to the supplier, 
are run on various technologies. Though all these technologies have hosts of features, they 
also contain carry many drawbacks. Xenius meters, on the other hand, are IOT/M2M-based 
AMRs which provide the consumers with a whole lot of rich features.
Automatic meter reading (AMR) is a system used to gather data from energy metering 
devices, transferring it to a supply central station and processing it for billing. These devices 
create a direct communication channel between the consumer and the supplier. 
Consumption data can be sent from the user meter directly to the supplier without any 
manual intervention. The system ensures accurate billing and also provides for monitoring 
and analysing the usage of electricity.
AMR systems can obtain energy consumption data on an hourly, monthly, yearly, 
or even near real-time, basis, depending on how these are programmed. These can 
be implemented with various technologies, like GSM, ZigBee, PLC, D-SCADA, 
WiMAX, Hybrid or a combination of some and also with IOT/M2M, which is what 
Xenius solution is based on.
● Consumption data can be sent from the user meter directly to the supplier 
without any manual intervention. The system ensures accurate billing and 
provides for monitoring and analysing electricity usage.
● The GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications)-based AMR network 
provides a global coverage across countries without the need to implement a 
new communication infrastructure.
● PLC (or Power Line Communication)-based AMR uses existing power cables as 
a communication medium. This allows both, controlling the devices remotely 
and also retrieving data from these.
The GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications)-based AMR network provides 
a global coverage across countries without the need to implement a new 
communication infrastructure. It is low-cost and simple setup with a wide operating 
distance and minimum human intervention that alerts the users about anomalies 
via its SMS feature.
Zigbee-based AMR requires a digital power meter to be installed in every consumer 
unit and an electricity e-billing system at the energy provider’s end. Although 
ZigBee devices are cheap, easy-to-operate and consume less energy, these are 
extremely limited in resources, including processing, memory and power.
SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system-based AMR is a control 
system architecture which includes collection of information via RTU (remote 
terminal unit), PLCs (programmable logic controllers) and IEDs (intelligent 
electronic devices), transferring it back to the central site and analysing and 
controlling the displayed information on the operator screens. The main drawback 
of using SCADA devices is that these are prone to network attacks.
PLC (or Power Line Communication)-based AMR uses existing power cables as a 
communication medium. This allows both, controlling the devices remotely and 
also retrieving data from these. However, there are two major factors that make 
the system unstable – electric network signal attenuation and random interference.
A mixed-type system automates the meter-reading process by capturing the 
images of the energy meter and transferring these to the customers by using 
ZigBee technology. This system consumes less power but has a short range and 
low data speed.
IOT/M2M-based AMRs used in Xenius meters consist of smart meters, Xenius 
adaptor, Xenius gateway, and Xenia backend platform. All devices and data 
communicate on the RF network and subsequently communicate to the backend 
platform on a secure GPRS private APN. At any given time, all the data is 
transparently available to all stakeholders.
About Xenius
Xenius is one of the most recognized companies in the IoT/M2M space. Though the 
client’s satisfaction is the highest recognition, we feel humbled with the 
innumerable corporate awards and patents that speak for the innovations 
introduced by us and the various milestones achieved.
Source: https://www.xenius.in/technologies-behind-amr-based-meters/ 
Contact Xenius
Phone: +91-120-4201765, +91-7303093408
Email: [email protected] 
Address: H-98, H Block, Sector 63, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201301
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