LoRa Alliance® Announces IEC and CEN Standards Validate LoRaWAN for Smart Metering

The LoRa Alliance will be joined at Enlit 2023 by Actility, Birdz, Diehl Metering, Elsys, Elvaco, Everynet, Netmore, Netvox, OrbiWise, and Semtech Demonstrating their Latest LoRaWAN Advances for Utilities, including relay.

The LoRa Alliance^®, the global association of companies backing the open LoRaWAN^® standard for Internet of Things (IoT) low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs), today provided multiple updates on the rapid deployment of LoRaWAN as a standard for the utilities market. Notably, the European Committee of Normalization (CEN) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) recently validated LoRaWAN for smart metering. The latest LoRaWAN advancements for utilities will be featured at the upcoming Enlit conference, where the LoRa Alliance will be joined by nine member companies in Hall 7.2, Stand F.150 at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles from Nov. 28-30, 2023. An additional 29 LoRa Alliance member companies will also have their own booths on the show floor.

"The LoRaWAN Standard has gained significant traction in the utilities market over the past few years, and 2023 is no exception. As an Alliance, we have strengthened LoRaWAN’s capabilities for this market with the addition of a relay, which was designed to extend LoRaWAN coverage in situations where adding a LoRaWAN gateway is impossible or not justifiable. This is a benefit for utilities that need to connect all endpoints while minimizing the cost of network infrastructure. Additionally, CEN standardized the M-Bus adaptation layer for LPWAN especially M-Bus over LoRaWAN and IEC standardized the DLMS profile for LPWAN, in particular LoRaWAN. These developments validate the standard as a leading technology choice for smart metering for electricity, water, heat and gas.”

Donna Moore, CEO and Chairwoman of the LoRa Alliance

Latest Standardizations

• The CEN standardized the M-Bus adaptation layer for LPWAN especially M-Bus over LoRaWAN under series EN13757-8. This enables the seamless integration of LoRaWAN in the large M-Bus ecosystem primarily used in water, heat and gas metering deployments.
• The IEC standardized the DLMS profile for LPWAN under new part IEC 62056-8-12. This part of IEC 62056 describes the use of DLMS^®/COSEM for Low-Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs) and in particular LoRaWAN. DLMS is used mainly for providing a reliable, secured and interoperable data exchange for smart metering to utilities.

Device Wall

• The LoRa Alliance will have a device wall with more than 30 gateways and LoRaWAN Certified^CM end-devices and sensors designed for use in metering and utilities. Stop by to experience the breadth of available solutions supporting this market.

Relay Demonstration

• LoRa Alliance members Actility and Semtech along with several metering OEMs will show how end-to-end LoRaWAN relay enables easier and more cost-effective LoRaWAN coverage for smart metering. It will show interoperability between different commercial relays and how the low-power operation of the implementation enables battery-powered relay to last several years.

Member Company Demonstrations

• Actility’s ThingPark IoT platform enables the future of smart utilities with LoRaWAN technology by enabling the monitoring and proactive management of energy, gas and water use to achieve waste reduction, conservation and sustainability goals. In addition to the relay demo, Actility will also showcase two other advanced LoRaWAN features: IPv6 over LoRaWAN for metering based on the IETF SCHC implementation and firmware updates over the air (FUOTA).
• Birdz and Diehl Metering will show OMS over LoRaWAN end-to-end solutions enable utilities to leverage the power of LoRaWAN connectivity while maintaining backward compatibility with M-Bus applications. M-Bus over LoRaWAN will expand the footprint of LoRaWAN in the smart utilities industry, especially in European countries.
• Elsys will present wireless LoRaWAN sensors for smart buildings, cities, and industries. The company will showcase a recent deployment with its temperature sensors that is projected to decrease energy use by at least 6% in the coming winter.
• Elvaco's LoRaWAN Certified^CM MCM devices provide best-in-class smart metering solutions that connect heat meters installed in utilities, residential and commercial buildings to a private or public LoRaWAN network. Data provided by heat meters via LoRaWAN modules ensure a reliable foundation for decision-making in terms of optimized and environmentally conscious energy management.
• Everynet will demonstrate, together with key ecosystem partners, how its carrier-grade LoRaWAN public network infrastructure is being used to enable live deployments of game-changing utility metering and management solutions for smart water metering & monitoring, gas leak prevention, and smart grid solutions. These presentations will demonstrate the scalability and low costs associated with using LoRaWAN.
• Netmore will introduce its Pan-European LoRaWAN offering, specifically tailored for utility applications and large-scale implementations.
• Netvox will present its Energy Meter for LoRaWAN, Smart Circuit Breaker for LoRaWAN, and LoRaWAN sensors powered by renewable energy that enable energy management, savings and sustainability.
• OrbiWise will showcase the deployment of LoRaWAN public networks for smart water and gas metering in different European countries to demonstrate scale and the ability to cover high-density areas and extended regions.
• Semtech will show interoperability between new commercial relay devices and the impact of the relay feature on the energy consumption of relay and battery-powered end devices. The evaluation kit of the LR1110 Modem-E will be showcased to illustrate the integration and architecture advantages for using an embedded, LoRaWAN pre-certified modem.

Visit the LoRa Alliance website to learn more about its presence at Enlit 2023. Editors or analysts interested in arranging a private briefing during the show can contact [email protected] to make arrangements.