Automated Meter Reading System for Heat Costs Allocation

The paper presents the design and the implementation of an automated meter reading system for heat costs allocation. The system was developed on three levels: the data acquisition level – where data are recorded from field with costs allocators installed on the radiators; a data concentration level – were data registered by allocators are read at a predetermined time interval with data concentration units and a data processing level – for uploading information in a PC hosted data base for various works afterwards. For each level was defined the hardware requirements and the software specifications including the communications modules, the meter and the user interfaces. A PWM data encoding was proposed as an alternative encoding for wireless communication through RF between data acquisition and concentration levels. The system uses RF for data transmission but also includes a pair of RFID modules facilitating remote programming and diagnostic procedures. In order to fulfill the low power requirements the dedicated modules costs allocator and data collection unit were implemented around MSP430 low power microcontrollers. Key-Words: Costs allocator, Sensor network, Temperature measuring, Data concentrator, Radio communication, Automatic meter reading, RFID, Low power