Water Monitoring Systems, Flow Meters, & IoT Measuring Water Usage Sensors for Water Resources Management

Howdy! :)

In this Instructable, you'll see how ridiculously easy it is to monitor water usage and flow meters.

You know that water is a precious resource for us. How long can you and your family live without water?

It seems like there's constant news of too much water and flooding in some locations, while at the same time other places have too little water and droughts. How can we all help out?

Today's water monitoring systems with Industrial IoT sensors let you effectively manage water resources.

So how do You rapidly deploy water monitoring systems?

You'll learn how to do it in less than 4 minutes.

We'll quickly and cost-effectively connect your water flow meters to the clouds so we can remotely monitor water usage and add telemetry to your fluids!

Are ya ready?!? :)

Step 1: Watch the Video!

Watch the video to learn step by step how to make your water monitoring system.

You'll see how to connect flow meters to PWM sensor adapters and calculate running totals of water usage with totalizers.

Questions about your horoscope, water monitoring systems, butterflies, air quality index monitoring, lucky lottery numbers, or anything else?

Please don't hesitate to talk to me if you've got any questions.

The video voiceover / transcript is below for your convenience and to make it easy for you to reference in case my voice is hard to understand. :)

Water Monitoring Systems Video Transcript a.k.a. Voiceover:

You’ll be using PWM or pulse-width modulation sensor adapters to count the pulses or ticks from flow meters.

The PWM sensor adapter connects to your sensor hub, which connects to Tools.Valarm.net via WiFi, ethernet (connected to networks like long range wireless, Ingenu, Sigfox, or LoRa WAN), or mobile cell networks like GSM, 3G, 2G, GPRS, or 4G.

This EKM water flow meter outputs 1 pulse per tenth of a cubic foot. So each tick we count is approximately .75 or three quarters of a gallon of fluid. Note that each model and hardware manufacturer, e.g., McCrometer flow meters, are different. So check with your sensor maker to verify how much fluid each pulse signifies in gallons or liters.

Step 2: PWM Pulse Counts

We’ll remember how much water flow a pulse or tick equals when we’re looking at the pulse counts on Tools.Valarm.net. Make sure your water flow meter is properly connected to your PWM sensor adapter. Click here to learn more about the PWM sensor protocol and how it works.

The ground, which is the black cable here, is connected to the ground connector on the PWM sensor adapter. The sensor output, which is the red wire on this flow meter, is connected to the sensor and pull-up connector on the PWM sensor adapter.

Step 3: Turn on the Water and Monitor Your Water Usage

If you're more of a visual learner, take a gander at the wiring diagram. Wire it up just like the photo and as described above. That’s it! You're ready to remotely monitor water systems.

Let’s turn on the faucet and water the pool while monitoring our water usage with the flow meter. When you’re ready to deploy, just put everything into a weatherproof box and provide power via solar, mains, or whichever power source works best for your scenario.

Step 4: What Do YOU Do With the Sensor Info? Analytics? Totalizers?

Now we’ll look at the water sensor data on Tools.Valarm.net. If you haven’t already linked your sensor hub to Tools.Valarm.net, then check out our other videos and tutorials to connect your sensor hub and sensors.

On Tools.Valarm.net you see the PWM sensor data from the water flow meter. Since the PWM sensor adapter is in edge count mode, we’ll divide the PWM counts by 2 to get flow meter pulses, then multiply that by the amount of water per pulse. You can set up a totalizer to keep a running total sum of water usage in the exact format you want it, like gallons or liters.

Here’s an example of how to set up a totalizer for this flow meter model where each pulse is approximately .75 or three-quarters of a gallon. See www.valarm.net and our write-up on Valarm Tools totalizers for more on setting up totalizers and all of your totalizing options.

Now that the water telemetry data is on Tools.Valarm.net you can view it on maps, graphs, and use our APIs to integrate all of your Industrial IoT information into a real-time web dashboard like the one you see here. This web dashboard uses the PWM sensor adapter you saw in this video to monitoring water usage counting pulses from McCrometer water flowmeters.

Take a gander at this Instructables tutorial on integrating McCrometer magnetic flow meters with your water monitoring systems for measuring water usage.

Step 5: What About Water Levels and Depths in Wells?

Each water well at this California golf course is measured with a water monitoring system. In addition to the water flow meter at each water well, a pressure transducer or water level sensor, like those made by In-Situ or Flowline, is connected to a 4-20mA sensor adapter to monitor water depths in the water wells. Tools.Valarm.net is an open platform so you can use sensors made by any hardware manufacturer.

You’ll want the most rugged and reliable sensor for your specific remote monitoring needs. It doesn't matter you need to monitor, air quality, bridges, industrial fleet vehicles, flood monitoring systems, or anything else, message me and I'll help you get it done.

Questions? Please don't hesitate to Talk To Me if you've got any questions.