Cambridge Consultants
is playing a key role in a project designed to
improve the economics of the national Quantum gas
pre-payment scheme, which currently serves almost
one in six gas users in the UK.
Cambridge Consultants
has developed a new generation gas meter, to meet
aggressive price/performance targets set by Quantum
scheme operator Siemens Energy Services. The design
substantially lowers the meter's cost of construction,
and incorporates many new features to simplify
the back-office procedures associated with managing
accounts. Together, these cost-saving measures
could help to lower tariffs for the UK’s
2.3 million pre-payment gas customers.
Commenting on the significance
of the new design, Matt Hamblin of Siemens Energy
Services said: "The
rental costs of the smartcard-based gas meters used
to manage the pre-payment process represent over
half of the total 'cost to serve' the consumer, and
economies here have a big impact on the bottom line. A
lot of the original pre-payment meters are due for
replacement in the next few years, and we commissioned
this new meter design to allow the Quantum scheme
to run more efficiently and cost-effectively."
The new meter, which
is now in production, is called Q-Smart. Cambridge
Consultants won the design contract on the strength
of its ability to offer the complete range of electronic,
software, power management, mechanical and industrial
design skills, and for its extensive meter design
know-how - which dates back to projects in the
1980s.
"The broad set of skills that we brought to
bear on this project allowed us to rethink the design
and make major reductions in build cost, while simultaneously
improving performance", says Cambridge Consultants'
Martin Cooper, who led the product development. "We
have eliminated parts, re-worked functions so that
they can be performed by lower-cost components or
software, and generally optimised the meter for high
volume manufacture, in order to meet the project's
aggressive price/performance target."
Q-Smart reduces meter
construction costs by around a third. Much of the cost reduction stems from
the design of the meter's electronic control circuitry,
which is simpler than that used in existing Quantum
meters. The circuitry has fewer components
and requires only one major IC - a standard 16-bit
microcontroller. This mounts on one low-cost
single-sided PCB, replacing two used in other meters.
A lot of thought has also been applied to minimising
power consumption. The control software ensures that
the control circuitry 'sleeps' for the vast majority
of time. In conjunction with other power management
techniques, this allows the new meter to operate
for its entire life from a single cell - rather than
two.
This circuitry manages
the gas valve and flow meter - which is a conventional
and low-cost bellows design - plus a man-machine
interface with an LCD, pushbutton, and smartcard
reader. The much-simplified meter
design still meets the requirements of the ATEX explosive
atmospheres standard, and includes powerful fail-safe
features to protect the consumer.
The meter makes further
contributions to cost reduction by eliminating
common causes of service visits. Its
reduced power consumption provides one major gain,
as battery life now exceeds the target life of the
meter itself - in excess of 10 years - eliminating
battery changes. Simpler mechanical construction
has also eradicated some of the meter 'tamper' faults
that will currently close the valve and necessitate
a service visit.
New facilities incorporated
in the software eliminate further common causes
of visits, such as a change in tenancy or gas supplier.
Other new features include extensions in the command
set that allow the Quantum processing centre to
send messages to individual meters via the consumer's
smartcard. Among
these is a 'suspended disconnect' facility that allows
the energy supplier to postpone valve closure during
holiday periods when it might be difficult to recharge
the smartcard, or overnight when a service visit
would be more expensive.
"At the outset of this project, we set a very
difficult target for cost reduction," added
Matt Hamblin. "Cambridge Consultants'
product design know-how has risen to this challenge,
giving us a meter design that we believe has the
potential to help make this sector much more competitive,
and much more open - providing more flexible payment
mechanisms for all gas consumers.
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About Cambridge Consultants
Cambridge Consultants
develops breakthrough products, creates and licenses
intellectual property, and provides business consultancy
in technology critical issues for clients worldwide.
For nearly 50 years, the company has enabled its
clients to turn business opportunities into commercial
successes, whether launching first-to-market products,
entering new markets or expanding existing markets
through the introduction of new technologies. With
a team of over 250 engineers, designers, scientists
and consultants, in offices in Cambridge (UK) and
Boston (USA), Cambridge Consultants offers solutions
across a diverse range of industries including medical
technology, industrial and consumer products, automotive,
transport, energy and wireless communications. For
more information visit: www.CambridgeConsultants.com
Cambridge Consultants
is part of the Altran group of companies. Altran
Technologie, which is listed on the Paris Stock
Exchange (FR:003463), employs over 17,000 consultants
in 20 countries around the world. In 2006 the group
generated a turnover of €1,495.6
million. For more information visit: www.altran.com
