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A pulse counter connects to the output terminal of an existing mechanical utility meter. The meter produces one electrical pulse per litre, cubic metre, or kWh (depending on the meter). The pulse counter records those pulses and transmits the total over LoRaWAN. It turns any legacy meter into a wireless smart meter overnight.
The main advantage is that mechanical meters do not need to be replaced – which saves cost and avoids disruption. Key features to check when selecting a pulse counter:
- Digital filtering – rejects false pulses from contact bounce or interference, improving counting accuracy
- Water flow alarms – alerts when flow rate exceeds a threshold (possible burst pipe)
- Outage detection – alerts when flow drops to zero unexpectedly (supply interruption)
- Dual input – some models support two pulse inputs on one device
- Local buffering – stores readings during connectivity loss and retransmits when the link recovers