Elvaco networks heat meters throughout Europe with NB-IoT

Elvaco networks district heating meters with Deutsche Telekom's retrofit modules and NB-IoT mobile communications. This enables municipal utilities and housing management companies to comply with legal requirements and benefit from remote meter reading and data transparency.

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„The cooperation with Deutsche Telekom provides us with the security and reach we need for our German and European customers. NB-IoT is the ideal technology for reading heat meters – reliable, energy-efficient and future-proof.“

Florian Schmidt, Head of Sales OEM, DACH & BeNeLux at Elvaco

3 steps to a successful IoT Use Case

Challenge

According to the District Heating Ordinance, energy suppliers must provide their customers with a monthly bill by the end of 2026. This can only be implemented if all district heating meters are connected so that they can be read remotely. Elvaco was looking for a reliable mobile communications partner for Germany and Europe for its retrofit networking solution.

Solution

The wireless modules from Elvaco can be inserted as plug-in cards in the standard interface of most district heating meters. They transmit data once a day, including hourly energy consumption, supply and return temperatures, and fault messages. The modules contain a Telekom SIM card with NB-IoT mobile technology. NB-IoT offers excellent building penetration, long range, and energy-efficient battery operation. Deutsche Telekom guarantees network technology security over 12 years, based on the double six-year calibration cycle of the hardware specified in the regulations.

Customer benefits

The retrofit solution enables utilities to upgrade and continue using existing meters. This saves resources and costs. Remote meter reading reduces the workload on staff, allowing them to focus on core tasks. Hourly measurement data enables proactive monitoring of the pipe network: Suppliers detect problems such as leaks before customers are affected. Firmware updates always keep the modules up to date. Thanks to the Europe-wide networks of Deutsche Telekom and its roaming partners, Elvaco can deploy its solution consistently across all target markets.

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