Singapore Zoo has deployed smart meters to track energy and water consumption at the 28-hectare park, overcoming the challenge of its forested terrain to deploy over 1,000 devices in three strategic locations across its premises.
Semtech Corporation, supplier of high performance analogue and mixed-signal semiconductors and advanced algorithms, and Sindcon (Singapore) IoT Technology, a provider of low power wide area network (LPWAN) Internet of Things (IoT) metering solutions, have been tapped for the project alongside Electrique Energie & Metering.
By integrating Semtech’s LoRa devices and the LoRaWAN standard into the Sindcon water and energy meters, they are able to transmit real-time metering data from the Singapore Zoo every 15 minutes. Additionally, leveraging the power efficiency of LoRa devices, Sindcon was able to reduce the cost of power cabling, further reducing the cost and complexity of deployment.
According to Deyu Chen, CEO and founder of Sindcon, his company’s collaboration with Semtech “highlights how LPWAN technologies are moving toward the future of a more energy-efficient and smarter world”.
“The immense scale of this project was a challenge for radio signal transmission due to the Singapore Zoo’s expansive area and heavily forested terrain. LoRaWAN and Semtech’s LoRa devices were the ideal solution to this problem, supporting the need of the project for low power data communication that allows smart meters to function for up to three years on a single battery while sending data uplinks every 15 minutes, relaying critical water and energy usage data in real time for the Singapore Zoo to monitor and lower its overall usage,” said Chen.
Over the past three years, the 1000+ Sindcon water and energy meters with LoRaWAN connectivity have been successfully deployed throughout the Singapore Zoo with a data success rate of 97% according to Sindcon.
The smart meters are located inside the switch rooms and are housed within electrical panels across the three parks within the Singapore Zoo. Each device monitors key consumption metrics like cubic meter (m3) throughput for water meters and kilowatt-hour (kWh), voltage, current and power consumption for electricity meters.
“LoRa devices and the LoRaWAN standard deliver a cost effective and flexible networking solution for Sindcon, driving bottom line business benefits,” said Marc Pégulu, vice president of IoT product marketing and strategy for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group. “Enhancing the Singapore Zoo with Sindcon through the deployment of smart water and energy meters with LoRaWAN showcases how the Internet of Things is shaping the future of smart utilities.”
