Commercial Smart Water Meter Market Trends

Growth Drivers

• Supportive government incentives: As companies work to adhere to rules and take advantage of incentives, regulatory requirements and incentives promoting the use of commercial smart water meters propel market expansion. For instance, the Government of the UK has included smart metering initiatives in the updated draft plans as part of broader demand management efforts. Both the government and the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) have announced the accelerated installation of 462,000 smart meters as a part of a larger effort to expedite water infrastructure development. This move aims to promptly increase the adoption of smart metering. While most businesses are already metered, only around 8% currently have smart meters. Water companies are aiming to raise the percentage of smart meters in non-household properties to 48% by 2030, 63% by 2040, and 65% by 2050 in the UK.
• Increased integration of advanced metering solutions: IoT integration improves utility administration by enabling remote meter reading, leak detection, and real-time monitoring, increasing the demand for advanced metering solutions. There’s a heightened focus on data analytics and cloud-based systems to understand water consumption patterns and enable businesses to optimize usage and quickly identify abnormalities.
  
  Moreover, elevation in sensor technology and communication protocols has improved the reliability and performance of these meters, increasing their adoption across diverse commercial industries.
  
  Also, major key players are striving to introduce cost-effective and advanced metering solutions to promote the adoption of advanced metering infrastructure across various regions and sectors. For instance, in May 2023, Honeywell launched the Next Generation Cellular Module (NXCM), which enables Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), an innovative system that converts old gas and water meters into smart meters without additional infrastructure.
• Need to upgrade existing infrastructure: While there are still problems with water supply in developing nations, the water infrastructure constructed in industrialized countries throughout the early 20th century has the least potential for use. The water sector is confronted with the problem of aging infrastructure since the installed standard meters lack accuracy and have worn out. This has led to an increase in the adoption of smart water metering solutions across nations. For instance, in September 2022, Trilliant, a leading global provider of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), smart grid, smart cities, and IIOT solutions, successfully implemented a wireless water metering system in Canada.

Challenges

• Substantial upfront costs: Large capital expenditures are needed for the installation of smart water meters. Installing smart water meters becomes challenging for water utilities and end consumers due to numerous components, including data management systems, control tools, real-time communication devices, and measuring and sensing devices, which are needed for the smart water metering infrastructure. Also, the lack of government funding for installing these meters and high installation costs may hinder the market from growing.
• Lack of awareness: Even with all of the benefits that smart water meters offer; a significant section of the global populace is ignorant of these services. The adoption rate of smart water metering is quite low in developed nations and very low in developing economies. This factor may impede market expansion during the forecast period.