Solutions — Water
Remote water meter reading, with no vendor lock-in
Carmilla collects water meter readings from any network and turns them into reliable data: consumption, alarms and metrological history in one cloud platform, available in the dashboard and through the API.
01 — What it solves
From walk-by reading to continuous data
Complete readings, every day
No more estimates and reading rounds: every meter reached by the network sends daily or hourly readings, with history per measuring point.
Leaks and anomalies flagged at once
Sixteen alarm flags from the meter (mechanical and magnetic fraud, suspected leak, backflow, empty pipe, frost, battery…) become browsable events, not bits in a log.
Data ready for your systems
Stable data contracts for the water vertical, meter-clock correction at read time and a REST API towards ERP, billing and analytics tools.
02 — How it works
Four steps, one system
01
Meters and radio modules
Water meters with an integrated or retrofit module, from different vendors, registered as devices with their master data.
02
Collection network
LoRaWAN with ChirpStack as network server, through HTTP integration, a queue or MQTT: transport is independent from the data.
03
Normalisation in the platform
Vendor payloads are decoded and aligned to the same data contract: readings, events, device status.
04
Dashboard and API
Consumption and alarms in the dashboard for operators and end customers; the same data through the API for downstream systems.
03 — Specifications
Under the hood
- Protocols and formats
- Maddalena Electo LoRaWAN frames (daily, weekly, info, events), volumes scaled from the VIF
- Networks
- LoRaWAN (ChirpStack), through HTTP integration, Azure Service Bus queue or MQTT
- Meters
- Maddalena Electo in the field; one data contract for the water vertical, multi-vendor by design
- Integration
- Documented REST API, developer portal, billing exports
04 — Regulation and obligations
Why remote water metering is no longer optional
ARERA, Resolution 218/2016/R/idr — TIMSII
Regulates metering in the integrated water service: minimum reading frequencies, validated data, fewer estimates. Daily remote reading exceeds the minimums and removes estimated readings.
ARERA, Resolution 917/2017/R/idr — RQTI
Technical quality with the M1 macro-indicator on water losses: without measured volumes per district the water balance stays an estimate and the indicator worsens.
UNI/TS 12007:2026
Technical specification for remote reading and remote management of water meters: the platform covers the remote-reading branch over LoRaWAN with dedup, quarantine and clock correction; remote management is outside the current scope.
Directive 2014/32/EU (MID) and Italian DM 93/2017
MID-compliant meters and periodic verification: the metrological archive per measuring point, with device history and its readings, documents what measured what and since when.
Italian recovery plan (PNRR), Mission 2 — Investment 4.2
Reduction of losses in water networks through digitalisation and monitoring: districting and smart metering are the funded items, and the data must be made available and kept.
Indicative references, current at publication date: they do not replace a regulatory check for your case.
05 — Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions on water metering
Can I use the meters I already have installed?
Yes, if they have a radio module or can be retrofitted. The platform is multi-vendor: payloads from different manufacturers are normalised to the same data contract.
How often do readings arrive?
It depends on the meter and the network: in the field today one daily reading with an hourly profile, plus weekly readings and status and event frames.
Do I need a dedicated LoRaWAN network?
No. You can use your own network (ChirpStack) or an operator network that delivers uplinks to the platform over HTTP, a queue or MQTT.
How do I get the data into my ERP or billing?
Through the REST API of the developer portal, with per-tenant tokens and documented data contracts; periodic exports for billing systems are provided.