LoRaWAN-based smart metering brought to the Singapore Zoo

A challenge for the project was overcoming the forested terrain of the Singapore Zoo. Through integrating Semtech’s LoRa® devices and the LoRaWAN standard into the Sindcon water and energy meters, Sindcon was able to deploy 1,000+ devices in strategic locations throughout the Singapore Zoo’s three parks using LoRaWAN’s robust and reliable connectivity to transmit real-time metering data every 15 minutes.

Additionally, by leveraging the power efficiency of LoRa devices, Sindcon was able to reduce the cost of power cabling, further reducing the cost and complexity of deployment.

Said Deyu Chen, CEO and founder of Sindcon: “The immense scale of this project was a challenge for radio signal transmission due to the Singapore Zoo’s expansive area and heavily forested terrain. LoRaWAN and Semtech’s LoRa devices were the ideal solution to this problem, supporting the need of the project for low-power data communication that allows smart meters to function for up to three years on a single battery while sending data uplinks every 15 minutes.This relays critical water and energy usage data in real time for the Singapore Zoo to monitor and lower its overall usage.

“Sindcon and Semtech’s collaboration highlights how LPWAN technologies are moving toward the future of a more energy-efficient and smarter world.”

Over the past three years, the 1000+ Sindcon water and energy meters with LoRaWAN connectivity have been successfully deployed throughout the Singapore Zoo with a data success rate of 97% according to Sindcon. The smart meters are located inside the switch rooms and are housed within electrical panels across the three parks within the Singapore Zoo. Each device monitors key consumption metrics like cubic meter throughput for water meters and kilowatt-hour (kWh), voltage, current and power consumption for electricity meters.

“LoRa devices and the LoRaWAN standard deliver a cost-effective and flexible networking solution for Sindcon, driving bottom-line business benefits,” said Marc Pégulu, vice president of IoT product marketing and strategy for Semtech’s Wireless and Sensing Products Group. “Enhancing the Singapore Zoo with Sindcon through the deployment of smart water and energy meters with LoRaWAN showcases how the Internet of Things is shaping the future of smart utilities.”

For more information on Sindcon’s smart metering solutions with LoRaWAN, please visit the company’s product page here.