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Berlin IoT PropTech Startup digitalizing dewego and GBG Mannheim Buildings
Technology Category
- Networks & Connectivity - Cellular
- Networks & Connectivity - Low-Power Wide-Area Network
Applicable Industries
- Buildings
Applicable Functions
- Facility Management
Use Cases
- Building Automation & Control
- Building Energy Management
- Remote Asset Management
Services
- System Integration
- Testing & Certification
The Challenge
The EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) requires the installation and remote reading of heat cost allocators by October 2020. Monthly consumption data must be provided to the end-user by 2022. With 60% of German buildings being more than 30 years old with outdated water and heating systems as well as siloed metering solutions, there is no visibility on utility consumption, causing inefficiency and low sustainability. metr’s m-gate is capable of cross-vendor communication with the sensors and systems on site. Common protocols are M-Bus and Wireless M-Bus, a unidirectional communication from sensors to gateway, where the meters constantly send data. metr experiences a maximum reach of 4-5 building storeys with the Wireless M-Bus technology, which requires the installation of repeaters for larger infrastructure. As the m-gate is installed in the basement, metr changed from indoor to outdoor antennas to mitigate signal loss due to the concrete walls.
About The Customer
Berlin-based PropTech startup metr aims to make the management of living space more efficient and sustainable. Using big data and AI, metr enables data-driven facility management and makes apartment buildings fit for the future. metr’s solution consists of an intelligent building management platform and the m-gate, a multifunctional IoT gateway. In addition to smart submetering, metr’s solution offers remote monitoring of heating and drinking water systems. The collected and processed data is sent to the platform, which integrates metr’s solutions as well as third party applications like elevator monitoring into a central system. From there, the data is checked for plausibility and visualized in the customers desired interface.
The Solution
metr designed the m-gate, a multifunctional and retrofit gateway capable of communicating with all installed meters and sensors within a building. In response to the new regulations, metr’s platform integrates submetering as one of metr’s own solutions together with third party solutions into one central system. To connect the m-gate to the platform, metr conducted tests using LTE and LPWAN technologies like NB-IoT and LoRaWAN. NB-IoT proved to have limited coverage and LoRa’s duty cycles did not allow for sufficient data volume to be sent by the gateway. That is why metr decided to partner with EMnify and take full advantage of secure, reliable connectivity. The multi-network capability ensures that the m-gate is always connected to the platform even if one network in the geographical area is not available. With EMnify’s network of networks solution, metr deploys their m-gate anywhere in the DACH region. EMnify’s REST API allows metr to integrate SIM management, activation, and suspension directly into their platform.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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