Urban.io meter sensors and the AQUAIOT clamp-on flow meter, installed and supported in the UKAutomatic meter reading
Read every water meter without walking to it.
An Urban.io Meter Count Sensor connects to the pulse output on the meters you already have and reports every 10 minutes. Where a meter has no pulse output, a clamp-on flow meter does the measuring. You see how much water each building uses, hour by hour, including at night.
- Uses your existing meters
- Readings every 10 minutes
- Night flow alarms
- Use by building or tenant
- Email or SMS alerts
Every 10 minMeter readings sent
144Readings a day per meter
Email or SMSThreshold alarms
Why read meters automatically
A meter read once a quarter cannot tell you about last night’s leak.
Many sites only see their water use when the bill arrives. A quarterly read gives you four numbers a year. A pulse sensor reporting every 10 minutes gives you 144 a day, which is enough to see a running toilet, a stuck valve or a leak that only shows at night.
200 to 400
Litres of water a leaking toilet can waste every single day.
Source: Waterwise, Leaky Loo Challenge
20%
England has a legal target to cut the drinking water supplied per person by at least 20% by 31 March 2038.
5 billion
Litres a day is the public water shortfall England faces by 2055 without urgent action.
Source: Environment Agency, June 2025
60%
Of that shortfall the Environment Agency expects to be closed by managing demand and cutting leaks.
Source: Environment Agency, June 2025
How it works
Your existing meters do the measuring, and the sensor does the reading.
Many commercial water meters can send a pulse for every set volume of water that passes. The Urban.io Meter Count Sensor counts those pulses and sends the total every 10 minutes, so the meter you already pay for starts reporting on its own.
We list your meters.
We check each meter for a pulse output and note the ones that need another way in.
The pulse sensor counts the meter.
An Urban.io Meter Count Sensor connects to the pulse output and counts passive or active pulses.
A clamp-on meter covers the rest.
Where there is no pulse output, the AQUAIOT clamp-on ultrasonic flow meter measures flow from outside the pipe.
Use and alarms reach your team.
Readings arrive every 10 minutes, and thresholds raise an email or SMS when use looks wrong.
What you see
Water used while the building is empty is the first sign of a leak.
Most buildings use very little water between midnight and dawn. When the hourly use never drops to zero, something is running: a toilet, a valve, a cooling top-up or a leak. A night flow threshold turns that into an alarm on the first night.
- Hourly and daily use per meter
- Night flow alarms
- Use by building, floor or tenant
- History kept for your reports
The sensors
One of two sensors fits almost every meter on a site.
If the meter has a pulse output, the Urban.io sensor reads it. If it does not, the clamp-on meter measures the pipe directly. Either way the readings land on the same dashboard.
Meters with a pulse outputUrban.io Meter Count Sensor
Counts the pulses from a water meter and sends the data every 10 minutes, with email or SMS alarms and an API for your own systems.
Pipes with no pulse outputAQUAIOT Clamp-On Flow Meter
Measures flow from outside the pipe by transit-time ultrasound and reports over 4G or LoRaWAN, with no pipe cutting.
Read more in the water sub-metering guide and the answer to reading a meter with no pulse output.
Alerts
The night flow alarm reaches facilities before the next bill does.
A meter that suddenly reads double, or never rests at night, is worth a look the same day. You set the limits for each meter and choose who hears about each one.
Notify.
An email or SMS reaches the people you name when a meter crosses its limit.
Find.
Separate meters by building or floor narrow the search to one part of the site.
Prove.
Use before and after a repair shows exactly what the fix saved.
Meter eventsExample feed
Example feed for illustration. Locations, times and values are not real data.
Where it fits
It suits any site that pays for water it cannot see.
The more buildings, floors or tenants a site has, the more a single bill hides. Meter reading splits it back into the places the water actually goes.
Offices and business parks
Shared supplies where use by tenant or by floor helps with fair recharges.
Schools and universities
Large estates where holiday use should be close to zero and often is not.
Hospitals and care homes
Sites that run all day and night, where a change from the usual pattern stands out.
Retail and leisure
Stores, gyms and venues with washrooms, showers and kitchens that hide waste.
Housing and student blocks
Communal supplies where a leak in one flat can run unnoticed for weeks.
Industrial sites
Process, wash and cooling water, measured line by line instead of from one bill.
Estates with many sites
Councils, trusts and property groups who want every meter on one screen and one report, instead of a round of readings and a pile of bills.
Not sure your meters have a pulse output?
Send us a photo of the meter face and we will tell you how it can be read.
Why AQUAIOT
We plan, install and support the whole system.
The sensors come from specialist manufacturing partners. AQUAIOT selects the right one for each meter, installs it, connects it and stays with you after go-live.
Meter survey
We find every meter, check its pulse output and plan coverage for the readings.
Installation
Pulse sensors connect to the meters, and clamp-on meters fit where there is no pulse.
Dashboard and alarms
We set up the dashboard, the night flow limits and who hears about each meter.
Training and support
Your team learns the dashboard, and we support the system for as long as it runs.
AQUAIOT clamp-on flow meter, left, and the Urban.io Meter Count Sensor, right.
The product
The AQUAIOT clamp-on meter measures flow without cutting the pipe.
It clamps to the outside of the pipe and measures flow by transit-time ultrasound, so a pipe with no usable meter can still be read without a shutdown.
- Clamps on, no pipe cutting
- Transit-time ultrasonic
- Compact meter for DN8 to DN100
- Wall-mount models for larger pipes
- 4G or LoRaWAN reporting
- RS485 Modbus on site
Questions
These are the questions facilities teams ask first.
Do we need new water meters?
Usually not. If a meter has a pulse output, an Urban.io Meter Count Sensor connects to it and counts the pulses. If it has none, a clamp-on ultrasonic flow meter can measure the flow from outside the pipe instead.
How often are readings sent?
The Urban.io Meter Count Sensor sends its data every 10 minutes, which gives 144 readings a day for each meter.
How does it show a leak?
Most buildings use very little water at night. When the hourly use never falls to zero while the building is empty, something is running. A threshold on night-time use raises an alarm by email or SMS.
Can we see use by building or tenant?
Yes. Each meter or sub-meter is read separately, so use can be shown by building, floor or tenant for your own reports.
Is this the same as a water company smart meter?
No. This is your own monitoring of the meters on your site. It does not replace the water company meter or change how you are billed. It shows you, hour by hour, where the water is going.
Can the readings go into our own systems?
Yes. Readings, history and alarms are available through an API, so they can feed energy, building management or reporting platforms.
Speak to an expert
Tell us about your meters and we will plan the reading.
An AQUAIOT engineer will look at how many meters you have, which have a pulse output and where you most need to see the water going.
- Meter surveyWe check every meter before anything is ordered.
- Installation and commissioningSensors fitted, connected and tested on site.
- One monitoring partnerMeter reading alongside your leak, tank and flow monitoring.
Prefer to talk? Call 02392 233611 or email info@aquaiot.co.uk.
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