Submetering manufactured housing parks presents very particular challenges; the areas covered tend to be larger, the terrain can be irregular, and of course, the installations are outdoors, at the mercy of the weather.

Complex outdoor installations in large properties are nothing new to Cereniti. We currently have equipment that has been sitting in concrete pits for a decade or more and it is still working; even though it is covered in water and mud for most of the winter.

There are four major challenges facing manufactured housing park managers.

Performance

Utility meters in manufactured housing parks are almost always installed in locations that are exposed to the elements. The distances within the parks can also be quite large. Park offices are usually located at the entrance of the park while the farthest homes can be a mile or more away, Cereniti's transmitters easily deal with these challenges, often without even needing to install a repeater.

At Cereniti, we understand that our technology should make your life easier, not more difficult, so we designed our radio transmitters to be effective no matter where you put them. Even in a concrete pit in the sidewalk, covered with mud and water.

We developed high-powered, low frequency transmitters that can be installed almost anywhere. Our transmitters use only FCC-approved frequencies in the 450-470Mhz range. By using these low frequencies we have been able to deploy solutions that included installing the transmitters in concrete pits that frequently fill with water and mud during the winter.

Our outdoor transmitters are IP-68 compliant, which means that they are dust-proof and submersible. Yes, you could drop them in water up to three feet deep and they would still transmit.

Ease of installation

Cereniti's transmitters can be installed right next to the meter. There is no need to lay cable so that transmitter might be installed in a place that is protected from the elements. There is no need to make alterations to property or to spend costly time jerry-rigging installations that fit the needs of the transmitter and not the business needs of the property managers.

Multiple meters

Developments that submeter water will frequently look for ways to submeter other utilities like gas or electricity. Installing additional transmitters to cover these utilities may be avoided using Cereniti's DataSense. Our transmitters can accept from one to four inputs from a variety of meters. As long as the meters have the same sort of output (pulse or encoded), and are installed in reasonable proximity (up to 12ft), it is usually a simple matter to hook them up to the same transmitter.

Pulse or encoded meters

Pulse and encoded meters each have their own pros and cons. Pulse meters are common and inexpensive, encoded meters are more sophisticated and precise. Manufactured housing park managers should be able to make a decision as to what type of meter is best for their property based on their business needs, not on the capabilities of their AMR transmitters. No matter what type of meter you choose for your property, we have a transmitter for you.

Using the data

A great deal of data will be produced and collected by your AMR system, it is important to know that you can get to it and you can get it to work for you. Extracting consumption data once a month for billing purposes is just the beginning. You should be able to make that data work for you.

Burst pipes

Burst pipes are a nightmare no matter who's paying for the water. Flood damage everywhere, expensive repairs and even more expensive replacements can be avoided using the DataSense Control Center to spot the unusual flow and to notify the tenant and park manager to take immediate action to prevent damage.

Identifying unusual consumption and slow leaks

Cereniti's DataSense Control Center includes algorithms that have been designed and tested to spot the slow leaks and unusual consumption that might damage your property and your business. Even if you don't own the home in question, leaks are disruptive, wasteful, and generally bad for business. The same can be said for non-standard uses of water. Cereniti's control center can help you identify these issues and deal with them effectively.

The Control Center can then both the tenant and/or the property manager in a number of ways (e.g. email or text message) so that preventative action might be taken.

Education

Would you be satisfied if your bank allowed you to see your balance only once a month? No? Same with water. Cereniti's DataSense Control Center can provide the tools to allow tenants to look at their water consumption online, even in the middle of a billing cycle. It can do much more as well; it can identify usual consumption patterns like sharp uptakes on certain days, or apartments without leaks that consume significantly more water than the average.