How smart is the IC card smart meter market?

The smart meter market, like the meter market, also has great potential. Since 1998, the domestic meter industry has carried out large-scale IC card meter reconstruction projects. Within a short period of three years, the nation completed the transformation of 5 million IC card meters, plus the number of newly-built buildings, and the total demand for IC card electricity meters has exceeded 11 million. Judging from all the current signs, the opportunity for large-scale replacement of water meters is also approaching. The main reasons are as follows: First, five ministries and commissions, including the State Planning Commission and the Ministry of Water Resources, jointly decided that all cities in the country should implement the policy of measuring water prices step by step for domestic water use by the end of 2005. The second is that the technology of smart meter for IC card has matured, and it has a large-scale promotion and application product base. Third, the shortage of water resources has forced the government and water companies to accelerate the implementation of stepped water prices.

The shortage of water resources is the basic national condition of our country. The lack of water has a huge negative impact on China's economic development and social life. The shortage of water resources has promoted the reform of water prices in the water industry. These price reforms have effectively raised citizens’ awareness of water conservation. In order to more effectively alleviate the problem of water shortage in China, the former State Planning Commission, the Ministry of Water Resources and other five ministries and commissions jointly decided that all cities in the country should implement the policy of measuring the price of residential water using ladders by the end of 2005. Stepped water prices refer to the upper limit of water consumption for residents. If water exceeds a certain standard, the same 1 cubic meter of water will receive more water fees. The more water is used, the higher the unit price per cubic meter will be. Water resources. Fourteen cities such as Tianjin, Harbin, and Yinchuan have taken the lead in carrying out pilot reforms of urban water supply prices and implemented a stepped measurement of water prices.

Stepped water prices are the basic means of ensuring the balance between supply and demand for water resources. However, the backwardness of water measurement means is the biggest obstacle to restricting the price of water in the ladder. For a long period of time, water companies have only read the total list, and residents living in residential units have never had an economic relationship with the water supply companies. If the water company can't accurately know the user's monthly water consumption, how can it be implemented? It is precisely for this reason that some cities have proposed that the water price of the ladder will not be implemented in the short term. In addition to being subject to the condition of “checking meter to household”, it is also restricted by factors such as “timeliness and accuracy of meter reading and meter exit”. According to reports, the precondition for the implementation of residents' ladder water prices is “one household, one meter, and meter reading to households”. However, at present, many old houses in China are not suitable for transformation. In some areas, there are still many high-rise building occupants who enjoy the problems of selling policies, restricting the advancement of the price of water prices. The status quo is that, for several months, copy or self-report the amount of water. This shows that manual household meter reading is not in line with current needs. At the same time, due to the improvement of the quality of life, people have begun to pay attention to issues such as privacy and security. This requires the use of technical means to solve it. The biggest difficulty in realizing the water price of ladders is the backwardness of water measurement methods. IC card smart meter is the most realistic choice for realizing the price of ladder water. IC card smart water meter is a new type of water meter that uses modern microelectronic technology, modern sensor technology, and IC card technology to measure water consumption and transmit water data and settlement transactions. In addition to recording and electronic display of water consumption, it can also automatically control the water consumption according to the agreement, and automatically calculate the water fee of the stepped water price, and can also perform the function of water data storage. Because the data transfer and transaction settlement are performed through the IC card, it is possible to realize the transition from the staff's on-site meter reading charges to the user's own payment to the business office. The IC card transaction system also has the characteristics of convenient transaction, accurate calculation, and bank settlement. Although various manufacturers have proposed many technical means for realizing the price of water in the ladder, from the perspective of practical applications, the smart meter of IC card is still the most realistic choice. On the one hand, there is a precedent for the successful application of smart meters for the IC industry in the meter industry, which proves to be technically mature. On the other hand, most of the urban residents have accepted the habit of using the IC card smart electricity meter when faced with the smart meter of the IC card. It is easier to adapt. Third, the smart meter of IC card can not only realize the price of the ladder, but also help the water company to use the easiest way to charge and solve the problem of defaulting on the water fee.

Although there are still controversies about the technical realization of the ladder water price, IC smart water meters have become the most widely used products. From the recent situation, many cities such as Beijing, Chongqing, Tianjin, Nanjing, Yinchuan, Harbin, Shenyang, Korla, Shijiazhuang and other cities have begun to implement the IC card water meter renovation project. Not only that, with the implementation of fixed-quota water, large enterprises and institutions, such as schools, troops, factories, hospitals, mines, etc., in order to reduce costs, save water, are carrying out IC card water meter transformation. This huge demand has attracted a large number of manufacturers to join them. After eight years of development, the IC card smart water meter has matured technically and has the conditions for large-scale popularization and application.

The era of large-scale replacement of smart meters for IC cards has come. They have seized the regional market to become the focus of water meter companies' competition. The opportunities are equal. As long as they work hard, they believe that the water meter industry will usher in the midsummer!