eWatermeteralert
Clean water is a precious commodity. We have to prevent wasting it.
You hear occasional stories of people where they get a big settlement by a waterleak. People today are more than ever concerned with their water consumption.
The media gives message that the municipalities will increase the charge per litre.
I now have a very cheap solution which monitors your watermeter for normal water usage.
The user gets an alarm if in 24h there is no 2h where no (less than 0, 5 l) water is used. If this is not the case, there is a water leak.
If the user leaves open a watertab longer than 30 min then there is also an alarm. In this case one has forgotten the water tap.
The circuit consists of an Atmel attiny 13 powered by 2 AAA bateries. The design would consume about 5µA and thus would last for many years before new bateries are required.
The media gives message that the municipalities will increase the charge per litre.
I now have a very cheap solution which monitors your watermeter for normal water usage.
The user gets an alarm if in 24h there is no 2h where no (less than 0, 5 l) water is used. If this is not the case, there is a water leak.
If the user leaves open a watertab longer than 30 min then there is also an alarm. In this case one has forgotten the water tap.
The circuit consists of an Atmel attiny 13 powered by 2 AAA bateries. The design would consume about 5µA and thus would last for many years before new bateries are required.
Discussion (5 comments)
Geert Van Espen 8 years ago
It works great. Never new there was a rotating magnet inside my watermeter. I inserted the reed switch into the hole and had to experiment a bit to find the right position.
Since I have Raspberry Pi's all over my house, I connected the reed switch directly to one of Raspberry's GPIO ports and wrote a python script. I also found out that the resolution can be brought down to 0.25 liters by acting on both rising and falling edge of the switch.
The python script will not only warn me (by mail) on tap left open or leaks, but also keep a counter same like the real meter, which I can read over the internet.
The script uses ssmtp to send mails.
Since I have Raspberry Pi's all over my house, I connected the reed switch directly to one of Raspberry's GPIO ports and wrote a python script. I also found out that the resolution can be brought down to 0.25 liters by acting on both rising and falling edge of the switch.
The python script will not only warn me (by mail) on tap left open or leaks, but also keep a counter same like the real meter, which I can read over the internet.
The script uses ssmtp to send mails.
Reply
Blue bird 8 years ago
Nice job,
Good idea using a raspberry pi. It opens extra possibilities.
I am working on an IoT version. For this I've created a cloud service
http://wma-gonotify.rhcloud.com
User: demo
Pasw: demo
It is written in nodejs using mongodb. Now it's running in redhat cloud. Perhaps you could add and run this cloud solution to your pi? Just an idea.
Good idea using a raspberry pi. It opens extra possibilities.
I am working on an IoT version. For this I've created a cloud service
http://wma-gonotify.rhcloud.com
User: demo
Pasw: demo
It is written in nodejs using mongodb. Now it's running in redhat cloud. Perhaps you could add and run this cloud solution to your pi? Just an idea.
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Günter Vollweiler 8 years ago
Hallo,
die offenbar ungeklärte Frage, wie man erkennen kann, dass überhaupt Wasser fliesst, reicht noch nicht. Selbst wenn ein Wasserzähler extern melden kann, dass Wasser fliesst, bleibt das Problem, dass der Zähler erst anspringt, wenn mindersens ca. 8-10 Liter pro Stunde fliessen. Das heisst, ein "kleines Leck", das durchaus grossen Schaden anrichten kann, kann so nicht erkannt werden.
die offenbar ungeklärte Frage, wie man erkennen kann, dass überhaupt Wasser fliesst, reicht noch nicht. Selbst wenn ein Wasserzähler extern melden kann, dass Wasser fliesst, bleibt das Problem, dass der Zähler erst anspringt, wenn mindersens ca. 8-10 Liter pro Stunde fliessen. Das heisst, ein "kleines Leck", das durchaus grossen Schaden anrichten kann, kann so nicht erkannt werden.
Reply
Blue bird 8 years ago
Hi,
Most watermeters produce a magnetic or electric pulse per 1/5l or 1l water used. This add's to your bill.
When in a normal household there is normal a time per day that there is no waterusage. For example when everybody sleeps between 3am and 5am.
Soo in 24u there should be a period of zero usage. If your meter procuces a pulse per 1/5l. There is detection of a leak from 250ml per hour.
Most watermeters produce a magnetic or electric pulse per 1/5l or 1l water used. This add's to your bill.
When in a normal household there is normal a time per day that there is no waterusage. For example when everybody sleeps between 3am and 5am.
Soo in 24u there should be a period of zero usage. If your meter procuces a pulse per 1/5l. There is detection of a leak from 250ml per hour.
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Herbert Klages 8 years ago
Es wird hier wohl auf das vorhandensein eines Lecks hingewiesen, nicht wo es sein könnte. Voraussetzung scheint ein besonderer Wasserzähler (Wasseruhr) zu sein, der einen Magneten eingebaut hat. Welche Zähler das haben, ist nicht beschrieben. Aktueller würde ein Hall-sensor eingesetzt werden, da hierbei kein mechanischer Verschleiß auftritt.
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Blue bird 8 years ago
Hi,
That is true. This only tells you if there is a leak. But if you know there is a leak you can start troubleshooting your water pipes and watertaps for problems. I think knowing of a problem is a lot. As many people don't take notice of there watermeter for problems.
Also true not all watermeters produce a pulse. Most of them however do this standard or you can purchase an addon. Some people use an optical sensor on the smallest digit of your meterteller.
That is true. This only tells you if there is a leak. But if you know there is a leak you can start troubleshooting your water pipes and watertaps for problems. I think knowing of a problem is a lot. As many people don't take notice of there watermeter for problems.
Also true not all watermeters produce a pulse. Most of them however do this standard or you can purchase an addon. Some people use an optical sensor on the smallest digit of your meterteller.
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Updates from the author
Blue bird 8 years ago