Part 1 - Smart Metering in India: Transforming Utilities with IoT

The adoption of smart meters in India is revolutionizing utility management, particularly in water and energy consumption. With increasing urbanization and the growing need for resource conservation, smart metering solutions provide real-time visibility, automated controls and data-driven decision-making capabilities. This transformation is particularly evident in large-scale commercial and residential projects, where efficient resource utilization is critical for sustainability and cost reduction.

The Growing Need for Smart Meters in India

In this first installment of a two-part series, we’ll explore how Enthu Technology Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. and Ripple Metering have successfully leveraged LoRaWAN® technology to implement smart metering applications across India. The following use cases highlight the benefits and impact of LoRaWAN, demonstrating its widespread adoption across various market segments, including commercial, enterprise, residential, and community applications. 

Bangalore Airport City Limited’s Water Management Transformation 

Bangalore Airport City Limited, responsible for managing water supply to commercial buildings outside Bangalore Airport, faced significant challenges in ensuring efficient water distribution. Manual monitoring resulted in inefficiencies, lack of real-time consumption visibility and an inability to detect and respond to leaks promptly. The company required a centralized system to monitor water supply in real-time, enable remote cutoff and provide automated alerts for leakages. 

Enthu Technology Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. provided a comprehensive LoRaWAN-based water management solution.  

The system consisted of smart water meters installed at distribution points, a private LoRaWAN network for reliable communication and a cloud-based IoT platform for real-time data aggregation and analysis. The solution enabled real-time water tracking, remote supply control and predictive maintenance, ultimately reducing water wastage by up to 10%.

"10% savings! With Enthu Technology Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.'s smart water management solution, we have gained real-time visibility into our water supply operations. The remote cutoff capability and leakage alerts have significantly improved our resource optimization efforts, leading to 10% savings and better operational efficiency."

- Bangalore Airport City Limited

Smart Energy Management at BRBNMPL 

Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited (BRBNMPL), a subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India, encountered difficulties in managing energy consumption across approximately 1,500 officers' quarters. The absence of real-time consumption data led to inefficient energy use and higher costs. BRBNMPL required a solution that would provide automated alerts for excessive consumption, detailed energy reports and centralized monitoring for optimization. 

Enthu Technology Solutions implemented a LoRaWAN-based smart energy metering system that ensured real-time monitoring and data analytics. The solution provided automated insights, reduced energy wastage and eliminated the need for costly 4G/5G subscriptions. With continuous data capture and anomaly detection, BRBNMPL significantly improved operational efficiency and cost savings. 

"100% Meter Reading Rate. Implementing the LoRaWAN-based energy monitoring solution has given us real-time visibility into our energy consumption, enabling proactive management and cost optimization. The automated alerts and advanced analytics have helped us detect inefficiencies, reduce wastage and streamline operations. Additionally, the adoption of this smart connectivity solution has eliminated the need for costly 4G/5G subscriptions, significantly reducing our recurring expenses. This solution has transformed the way we monitor and manage energy, leading to greater efficiency and substantial savings."

-Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited

Smart Resource Management at Palm Meadows 

Palm Meadows, a premium residential community, sought an integrated smart solution for energy and water management. The community struggled with inefficient resource utilization, manual monitoring and unfair DG power billing due to varying consumption patterns. The management required a system capable of real-time tracking, anomaly detection and automated alerts. 

Enthu Technology Solutions deployed a LoRaWAN-based smart metering system, integrating energy and water monitoring with automation controls. The solution provided real-time analytics, remote control capabilities and predictive maintenance, leading to improved operational efficiency and cost savings. Residents benefited from fair DG power billing, while the community reduced resource wastage and streamlined utility management. 

"Real-time visibility. Better efficiency. The implementation of Enthu Technology Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.'s smart energy and water management system has transformed our resource efficiency. With real-time monitoring, automated alerts and insightful reports, we have achieved significant cost savings while ensuring sustainability. The centralized dashboard allows seamless management and the automation features have reduced manual intervention, making our operations more efficient."

-Palm Meadows residential community

Smart Energy Management at Wheels India Pvt. Ltd.

Wheels India Pvt. Ltd., a leading manufacturer in the automotive and industrial sectors, faced significant challenges in optimizing energy consumption across its multiple factories. The company relied on manual recording of energy data from numerous meters, lacked real-time monitoring across locations and struggled with shift-wise energy tracking. Delayed responses to energy fluctuations also led to potential equipment failures, while the absence of a centralized energy management system hindered efficient resource allocation. 

Enthu Technology Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. implemented a LoRaWAN-based smart energy management solution, transforming the company’s approach to energy tracking and optimization. The system included smart energy meters installed at key locations, a private LoRaWAN network ensuring seamless communication and a cloud-based IoT platform for real-time data analysis. The web and mobile dashboards provided shift-wise insights, real-time alerts and predictive maintenance capabilities. 

"10% energy savings. Enthu Technology Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.'s energy management solution has transformed our operations. With real-time monitoring, shift-wise energy tracking and instant alerts, we have optimized our resource utilization and improved our sustainability efforts. This system has significantly improved predictive maintenance and delivered up to 10% energy savings. 

-Wheels India Pvt. Ltd

With this solution, Wheels India achieved 10% energy savings, real-time factory-wide monitoring and enhanced operational efficiency. The implementation also improved predictive maintenance, reducing downtime and prolonging equipment life. By aligning with ESG goals, the company minimized energy wastage and strengthened its sustainability initiatives.

Smart Energy Management at Zomato Hyperpure 

Zomato Hyperpure, a leading food supply chain network, operates multiple warehouses across India, storing fresh and frozen products that require precise temperature and humidity control. The company faced challenges in centralized monitoring, temperature fluctuations due to frequent door openings, high energy consumption from inefficient HVAC usage and a lack of real-time alerts for operational optimization. 

Enthu Technology Solutions India Pvt. Ltd. implemented a LoRaWAN-based smart energy management solution tailored for Hyperpure's warehouses. The solution included temperature and humidity sensors, door monitoring units and automated HVAC control integrated with a private LoRaWAN network and the thingZmate IoT platform. Through real-time monitoring dashboards, warehouse teams could track environmental conditions, receive alerts and optimize HVAC operations dynamically. 

This implementation resulted in 20% energy savings, enhanced product quality through stable environmental conditions and improved operational efficiency with automated insights and alerts. The scalable LoRaWAN-based approach enabled seamless expansion across multiple warehouse locations, ensuring long-term sustainability and cost savings. 

"Reducing energy while maintaining product quality. With Enthu Technology Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.'s energy management solution, we have gained real-time visibility into our warehouse operations, significantly reducing energy consumption while maintaining product quality. The door monitoring and HVAC control system have helped us achieve a stable environment across all warehouses, leading to 20% energy savings and improved operational efficiency."

-Zomato Hyperpure

Smart Utility Management for Gated Communities in India 

In India, gated communities consist of 500 to 2,000 high-rise apartments, with gas, water and electricity measured by sub-meters. After construction, management is transferred to associations or societies, which oversee utilities through property managers. However, traditional utility meters rely on wired systems, incurring high infrastructure and maintenance costs. Developers face significant expenses when installing wired communication cables, and societies struggle with maintaining these systems, facing wear and tear, data loss and frequent replacements. 

Ripple addresses these challenges with its wireless LoRaWAN smart meters, eliminating the need for costly infrastructure. The meters communicate wirelessly with gateways, transmitting data to a cloud-based system. This solution saves developers up to ₹20,000 (€225) per apartment on infrastructure costs. In a typical 1,000-apartment project, this results in savings of ₹2 Crores (€225,000). To date, over 60 gated communities across India have adopted Ripple’s solution, with more than 50,000 smart meters deployed and 250+ gateways installed. 

Ripple's solutions eliminate wear and tear, ensure reliable data communication and provide a prepaid billing system. Long-term savings are achieved through the absence of physical infrastructure, reducing maintenance and replacement costs. Additionally, Ripple's LoRaWAN technology offers better coverage, lower costs and scalability compared to alternatives like NB-IoT or 4G, making it the preferred choice for utility management in gated communities. 

"Using Ripple Smart Meters powered by LoRaWAN communication not only saved our CAPEX and maintenance costs, but also ensured upfront payments from residents for gas, water and electricity. The efficiency and reliability of smart metering have transformed our utility management system." 

-ASBL Builders

The Impact of IoT Solutions 

The deployment of Ripple Metering and Enthu Technology Solutions' smart water and energy management systems has revolutionized resource tracking and distribution across multiple sectors. With real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance and remote-control capabilities, organizations have improved operational efficiency, minimized wastage and achieved sustainability goals. These case studies highlight the power of IoT-driven smart metering in transforming resource management in India. 

To learn more about how Semtech smart metering solutions can enhance efficiency and sustainability, visit our website.

And stayed tuned for part 2! 

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