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 LoRaWAnevery hour dissipating only
${340 \mu \text{Wh}}$
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.