Water sub-meters
Use by building, floor or tenant, shown hour by hour, with a baseline that makes waste obvious.
Pulse counting monitoring tag
The ZARC pulse counting tag counts the pulses from a meter or output you already have and reports how much has been used, interval by interval. It turns a water, electricity, gas or heat meter with a pulse output, or a counter on a machine, into live data. It alerts when there is use that should not be there, and when use that should be there has stopped. It runs on its own battery and the meter stays as it is.
01
What it reports
The tag counts every pulse and reports the count for each interval and the running total, at the interval set for the site, down to every minute. A factor set per meter turns pulses into litres, cubic metres, kilowatt hours or units.
The pattern is the point. A meter read once a month gives a total. A count every few minutes shows when the use happened: through the night, at the weekend, during a shutdown.
Use when there should be none is the most valuable alert. Water running at three in the morning in a closed building is a leak or something left on. The tag reports it the same night, not at the next bill.
The reverse matters too. No pulses from a meter that should be turning means a supply has failed, a pump has stopped or a process is down.
The tag reads the meter's output and changes nothing about the meter. It is not a billing-grade meter; the meter remains the measure.
02
Applications
Most meters already have a pulse output that nobody is using. The uses below are the common ones.
Leaks found by night flow
A steady count through the hours when nothing should be running. The alert arrives the first night.
Electricity sub-meters
Consumption by area, plant or tenant from meters with a pulse output.
Gas and heat meters
Use by boiler house, building or heat network branch, from the meter's own pulse output.
Something left running
Plant, taps and processes that carry on after hours, picked up as use against an empty building.
Supply or process stopped
No count from a meter that should be turning: a failed supply, a stopped pump, a line that is down.
Machine and process counters
Items, cycles and strokes counted from an existing output, as a live production figure.
Recharging tenants and departments
A record of who used what and when, to support a recharge. The meter remains the measure.
Dosing and pump counts
Strokes of a dosing pump or runs of a booster, so a pump that has stopped dosing is seen.
Reading meters across an estate
Where the aim is every meter on an estate read without visits, the metering solution covers the whole system.
03
Where it can go
The tag sits beside the meter or output it counts. Typical positions:
At a water meter
In the meter chamber or cupboard, on the pulse output.
At an electricity sub-meter
In the distribution cupboard, on the meter's pulse terminals.
At a gas or heat meter
Beside the meter, connected to its pulse output by a competent person.
In a plant room
On the meters serving boilers, chillers and boosters.
On a machine
At the counter or sensor output.
In a chamber or pit
Below ground, where 433 MHz still reaches the gateway.
04
In the dashboard
Every meter shows its use for each interval, its running total and a trend from the last hour to the last year. The dashboard works out use by hour, day, week and month, the overnight baseline, and sets meters and buildings side by side. Records export for energy reports, recharges and leak investigations.
Limits are set per meter: use when there should be none, no use when there should be some, and use above a limit for a period. When one is crossed the alert is raised in real time and goes by email or SMS, and through an app where required, to the people you name, with escalation to further contacts.
- Use for every interval, in real units
- Running total for every meter
- Use by hour, day, week and month
- Overnight and weekend baseline
- Flow when there should be none
- No flow when there should be some
- Meters and buildings compared side by side
- Every alert logged with the count that raised it
- Records exported for reports and recharges
- A tag that misses its reporting interval is flagged
05
Industries
Pulse counting tags are fitted wherever a meter is read too rarely to be useful, including:
Facilities management
Water and energy by building and tenant.
Buildings and estates
Sub-meters, leaks and recharges.
Industrial and manufacturing
Process meters and machine counters.
Energy and utilities
Gas, heat and water meters on networks.
Local government and public sector
Schools, offices and depots.
Healthcare
Water and energy across large sites.
06
Technical specification
| Parameter | Specification |
|---|---|
| Measurement | Pulses from a meter or output, counted continuously |
| Input | Volt-free pulse output or reed switch; fitted to suit the meter |
| Values reported | Count for each interval and running total |
| Scaling | Factor per meter: litres, cubic metres, kilowatt hours or units |
| Pulse rate | Specified to the meter |
| Meter changes | None; the meter and its accuracy are untouched |
| Reporting interval | Configurable, down to every minute |
| Use alerts | Flow or consumption when there should be none |
| No-flow alerts | No count when there should be some |
| Limit alerts | Use above a limit for a period you set |
| Time-of-day rules | Separate rules for occupied and empty hours |
| Alert delivery | Dashboard, email or SMS; app where required |
| Recipients | Named people and groups, with escalation to further contacts |
| Gateway power loss | Raises its own platform alert |
| Missed reports | A tag that misses its reporting interval is flagged in the dashboard |
| Dashboard | Interval use, running total, hourly to monthly use, overnight baseline, meters compared; configured to your requirement |
| Records | Every interval time-stamped and exportable |
| Data | Full history; UK-hosted or on servers on your own site |
| Power | Internal battery, up to five years as standard; longer with additional cells |
| Radio | 433 MHz, one-way (transmit only) |
| Radio range | Site-dependent; confirmed by site survey |
| Environment | Indoor or outdoor, enclosure specified to the location |
| Mounting | Beside the meter, in a cupboard, chamber or plant room |
| Enclosure | Standard or built to the site; specified for chambers and pits |
| Not for | Billing-grade metering; the meter remains the measure |
| Charges | No per-alert, per-user or licence charges |
| Manufacture | Made to order in the UK |
| Certification | CE marked |
07
From requirement to live alerts
Requirement
Tell us which meters and what they serve. The meter's make and its pulse value are enough to start.
Configuration
Each tag is built to order for its meter, with the scaling factor, reporting interval and rules set.
Fitting
The tag is connected to the meter's pulse output and fixed beside it. The meter is not opened or altered.
Commissioning
The count is checked against the meter's register over a known volume or period, and alert routes are tested.
Ready to get started? Every deployment begins with a site survey.
Book a site survey08
How it reports
Each interval's count goes over 433 MHz radio to a ZARC gateway and on to the dashboard, where scaling and rules are applied. The tag has a transmitter and no receiver, so nothing can reach the meter through it. The 433 MHz signal carries out of meter chambers and plant rooms where other radios struggle.
Related tags
Leak & water
Water on the floor, where the meter shows it is being lost.
Pressure
Supply pressure beside the flow.
AC current
Whether the plant behind the meter is running.
Tank level
What is left in the tank the meter fills.
Questions we answer most.
What does the pulse counting tag do?
It counts the pulses from a meter or output you already have and reports use for each interval and as a running total.
What meters does it work with?
Water, electricity, gas and heat meters with a pulse output, and counters on machines.
Does it change the meter?
No. It reads the meter's pulse output. The meter and its accuracy are untouched.
Can it find a leak?
Yes. Use through the hours when nothing should be running raises an alert the same night.
Can it tell me a supply has stopped?
Yes. No count from a meter that should be turning raises a no-flow alert.
Does it show litres or kilowatt hours?
Yes. A factor set per meter turns pulses into litres, cubic metres, kilowatt hours or units.
Can it be used for billing?
It supports recharges with a record of use. It is not a billing-grade meter; the meter remains the measure.
Does it work in a meter chamber?
Yes. The 433 MHz signal carries out of chambers and pits, and the enclosure is specified for them.
Does it need power or a network?
No. It runs on an internal battery and reports by radio to a ZARC gateway.
How long does the battery last?
Up to five years as standard, and longer where additional cells are fitted.
Looking for something else?
We work with any sensor for any application.
Most sensing needs are met by a tag we already build, configured for your equipment. If yours needs a sensor or interface we don't list, we have the engineering to build it. Tell us what you need to measure, and we will tell you how we would do it.
Discuss your requirementDiscuss a monitoring
or alerting solution
Tell us what is happening on site, what you need to see, and the event you need to hear about. We will come back with the system that answers it.
Direct contact
Location
Venator House, Unit 9, 15-17 St Stephen's Road, Bournemouth
Dorset, BH2 6LA · VAT GB 409644484
Products contact
Contact the engineering team
Direct to the team that designs and builds the range. Tell us the equipment and the event that matters.