A Modular Electronic Unit for Water Monitoring in Plastic Pipes with Leakage Detection

A credit-card sized electronic unit measuring water flow rate by means of contactless ultrasonic transducers in distribution pipelines is presented. It acquires sensors data and transmits via LoRaWAN every hour dissipating only 340 mu Wh thanks to a low-power design. Power supply can be provided by an internal battery or by a compact, surface solar panel. Furthermore, this unit powers and communicates with a remote clamp-on unit detecting water leaks by means of impedance measurements (at 2 MHz) through the same four copper electrodes used for monitoring the pipe integrity in 10 m sections.