Wireless telemetry specialist Radio-Tech has developed a new and innovative wireless environmental monitoring system that measures energy efficiency and building performance and is specifically designed to meet standards specified by the Energy Savings Trust* (EST). Radio-Tech’s products have already been selected as the primary data collection system for both the EST’s Solid Wall Insulation field trials and the Technology Strategy Board’s (TSB) ‘Retrofit for the Future’ project.

Radio-Tech products comply with Energy Saving Trust Standards

Radio-Tech’s products measure building data through a range of wireless sensors positioned throughout a property. As the entire system is totally wireless it requires no field programming and can be installed with minimal disruption to occupants. Sensors monitor variables such as internal and external temperature and humidity, surface temperature, carbon dioxide levels, window and door openings, electricity, gas and water consumption. Through partnerships with industry-leading specialists, Radio-Tech can also offer heat flux, light and electrical power sensing equipment.

Sensors collect data from a range of sources and, using 434 MHz RF, report this information back at 5 minute intervals to a single, central Wi5 Data Hub. The Wi5 Data Hub can be located anywhere in the property and with a memory of 2GB can manage data from hundreds of sensors. Once data has been received, the Wi5 transmits this information back to Radio-Tech or client hosted servers for analysis; this can be uploaded periodically or as often as every minute. Collecting such environmental data can provide valuable information about building construction and performance that can affect the future of low impact building development in the UK.

The Government-backed TSB is currently spearheading an R&D project that will help evaluate building performance in an attempt to generate future low impact buildings with a reduced carbon footprint. Case study buildings will be evaluated to understand how building design and construction relates to energy and performance and the TSB has funding worth £8m available to businesses involved in the construction of these ‘green’ buildings. Environmental monitoring is an important part of future planning in the building and design sector and Radio-Tech products meet the criteria outlined by the Energy Savings Trust. Radio-Tech works in partnership with leading UK service providers to offer turn-key solutions that include calibration, installation and data collection. For more information about Radio-Tech’s new environmental monitoring range, please visit the company website at www.radio-tech.co.uk or call +44 (0)1279 635849.

*‘Evaluating Energy and Carbon Performance in the Retrofit for the Future Demonstrator Projects’ document found at www.innovateuk.org/_assets/pdf/competition-documents/est evaluating energy and carbon performance v1 0.pdf

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- £100m earmarked for acquisitions -

Halma p.l.c. (www.halma.com), the leading global safety, health and sensor technology group and parent company of Halma Water Management, has announced record results with profits up 9% to £86m and revenue rising by 1% to £459m. The UK-based group has posted strong financials to raise shareholder dividends by 7%, the thirty-first consecutive year of increases greater than 5%. The company plans to augment its organic growth efforts through acquisition of complementary technology companies, as it has done for many years.

Halma’s subsidiaries operate in three main market sectors: Health and Analysis, Infrastructure Sensors, and Industrial Safety, creating shareholder value with consistent organic growth and sound acquisitions. Halma companies operate as independent entities under the day-to-day direction of their local management, while reaping the capital and network benefits of a larger multi-national parent.

The company is seeking successful and profitable companies that are closely allied to any of its current market sectors, although Photonics, Water, Fluid Technology and Health Optics are a particular focus. It has £100m earmarked for acquisitions.

“In recent months we have increased our acquisition search activity,” said Allan Stamper, Chief Executive of the Water & Asset Monitoring Division. “Our experience has been that vendors of good quality businesses are now keener to talk but that many remain cautious about whether to sell now or to wait, in the hope that markets will recover in the medium term. Our task is to convince them that they will achieve even greater success by being part of Halma and to structure deals accordingly. We continue to search for businesses in all of our existing market sectors and in all geographic regions.”

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Halma is a holding company of approximately 35 worldwide subsidiaries that develop and manufacture products that protect lives and improve quality of life for people worldwide. The company’s business groups focus on industrial safety, health and analysis and infrastructure sensors.

To present potential acquisitions opportunities, please contact:

Allan Stamper – Chief Executive, Water & Asset Monitoring Division
Email: allan.stamper@halma.com
Tel:  +44 (0)1494 721111
Fax:  +44 (0)1494 728032

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Device allows set-up and operation from single PC or laptop

Milford, OH (June 25, 2010) –  Fluid Conservation Systems (FCS) simplifies wireless leak detector data collection with the new Patroller II system.

The FCS Patroller II eases drive-by collection of Permalog data.

The Patroller II system works in conjunction with the widely used FCS Permalog + acoustic leak noise detector.  Permalog + detectors attach magnetically to valves throughout a utility’s distribution system and use advanced algorithms to discern the acoustic signature of leaks from background noise.

Once leak noise is detected, the Patroller II collects the data transmitted by Permalog+ leak noise loggers wirelessly from onboard a moving patrol vehicle.  Its system software allows set up and operation from a single PC or laptop, with no requirement to program and retrieve data using a PDA device before uploading it to a separate PC for analysis.  Multiple loggers can be configured simultaneously and settings are saved and loaded, enabling complete District Metered Areas to be set up quickly and efficiently.

The Patroller II’s large display allows the user to customize data presentation including serial number, location number, level and spread, leak status, patrol time, address and GPS coordinates.  The dedicated radio receiver is equipped with a rechargeable battery, leak alarm and LED display for battery life and communication status.

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Veolia Water, the major water and wastewater management company, has been making use of recent developments in water leak detection technology to effectively manage water networks at an increased efficiency and lower cost. Halma Water Management’s (HWM’s) Permalog+ noise loggers have been employed by the company in a ‘lift and shift’ method to quickly, easily and accurately find and repair leaks.

The Permalog+ Technology

Permalog+ noise loggers are small devices deployed at points around the water network, where they monitor the noise levels on the pipes themselves. Changes and distinctive patterns in sound indicate the presence of leaks, often including ones that would otherwise go completely undetected. Mounted directly onto the pipes by a strong magnet, and battery-powered, the Permalog+ units can continuously monitor the section of piping around them for tell-tale signs of a leak. Once found, various telemetry and communication methods are available to alert leak detection operatives either immediately or at a specified time.

In a typical usage scenario, the data will either be collected or sent back to a central database, where each logger’s location is displayed on a map with either a green flag for ‘all clear’ or a red flag to indicate a leak. Each logger’s serial number, noise level and noise spread (the leak ‘signature’) is displayed alongside them on the map.

A noise logger technician installs a Permalog+ water leak detection device

A noise logger technician installs a Permalog+
 

‘Lift and Shift’

Veolia Water has 9 Noise Logger Technicians to carry out ‘lift and shift’ operations, with an average of over 80 individual Permalog+ units deployed and retrieved by each technician every day. The ‘lift and shift’ temporary installation method allows the use of a smaller number of units to cover a large area, effectively ‘auditing’ the network for leaks. As an alternative to a permanent installation, where the loggers would sit waiting and monitoring for new leaks in order to address them immediately, ‘lift and shift’ deployment actively searches for leaks throughout the network in a ‘sweeping’ pattern.

Leakage Teams will deploy loggers throughout the next targeted area (typically divided by DMA*), where they will remain overnight. The following day, the loggers are collected by the team, with a centralised record being made of where there are leaks and where the system is clear. These loggers can then be deployed to a new area, and so a rolling, sweeping search for leaks quickly progresses throughout the network.

In contrast to a ‘permanent’ deployment pattern, Permalog+s for use in a ‘lift and shift’ operation will be either pre-programmed at the factory or by the user with specially designed software to only transmit their recorded data when an operative swipes them with a magnet. There is no radio interference from other loggers nearby (stored in the car, for example), and the data is kept both secure and easily compartmentalised. This is obviously useful when the same loggers will eventually be deployed in many different locations – the fundamental point of the ‘lift and shift’ method.

Ease of Use

The Permalog+ units and system incorporate several recent technological innovations by HWM to make them more efficient and easier to use than ever before. The loggers can be pre-programmed, and can automatically record each deployed unit’s serial number and location by GPS tracking. This means that deployment is very quick, and there is no longer a danger of misplacing loggers – or the maps of where they are – which of course means that retrieval is easy too.

The new Permalog+ version can also utilise the extended logging functionality of Aqualog. This records noise levels at set intervals over a longer time period of up to 29 days. This allows easy trending analysis and graphical representation of the data, providing for more detailed leak analysis and definite confirmation. User-configured or preset alarm threshold settings can be applied for different pipe types and diameters.

Results

Veolia Water has had excellent results from this operation, finding leaks with great speed and ease, leading to reduced costs from resources. The new GPS mapping technology tracks and makes visible the effort being applied by the one-man teams, and has resulted in a higher deployment rate than previously seen. It also gave the company an audit trail of loggers, ensuring accountability and precise location tracking.

The Permalog+ noise logger's location is recorded with GPS tracking

The Permalog+ noise logger’s location is recorded with GPS tracking
 

With over 80 loggers per technician per day being deployed and collected, the speed of the activity means that detection time can be reduced when compared to other, more traditional leak-finding technologies and methods. A recent Veolia project that involved targeting 15 DMAs, covering some 28,000 properties, took only 32 days to sweep, and 96 leaks were detected. Because time lost is water lost, the speed of the search and therefore the swiftness of the response is key to minimising waste and reducing NRW** levels. Certainly, given the right application, noise loggers in the ‘Lift and Shift’ mode provide an excellent return on the investments of both time and funds. The fact that the Permalog+ system is very accurate in terms of both location and detection, as well as sensitive enough to find even ‘hidden’ leaks, makes it a powerful and effective tool in the ever more important fight against water loss.

* District Metered Area
**Non-Revenue Water

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