Willie Flow Meter: your connected water flow meter

A pulse-output flow meter already emits an electrical pulse for every unit of water that flows through it (1 L, 10 L, or 100 L depending on the pulse weight configured on the device). The meter is already measuring; it simply has no way to transmit that data. Nearly every industrial flow meter has this pulse output, whether mechanical, electromagnetic, or ultrasonic.

A remote-reading module closes that gap. It clips onto the flow meter, counts the pulses, timestamps them, and stores them, with a magnetic mount that installs in under 10 minutes: no drilling, no welding, no cutting. The meter's metrological compliance and seals stay intact, as does the manufacturer's warranty, and service is never interrupted during installation. The module itself is IP68-rated, with a battery that lasts 10 years.

Data travels over low-power wireless IoT networks, with no gateway to install, configure, or power. LoRaWAN suits large or rural sites, NB-IoT suits dense urban areas and basement technical rooms, and 4G serves as a backup. The key benefit is total independence from the site's Wi-Fi and Ethernet: no IT ticket, no VLAN to negotiate, which is what unlocks multi-site rollouts. Data refreshes every 15 minutes, while competing modules typically settle for an average reading every 30 to 60 minutes. On a leak, that gap is the difference between a few cubic meters and a few hundred.

From there, the chain runs from pulse to module, from module to IoT network, from network to cloud, and finally to an application accessible from any browser or smartphone. That's where you can:

• Track flow and volume curves across every site, side by side
• Set thresholds and monitor consumption at each measurement point
• Get alerts on leaks, threshold overruns, night-time anomalies, and budget drift, with detection in under 30 minutes
• Export pre-filled compliance reports and connect to your ERP, BMS, or CMMS through an open API

Traditional remote-reading systems for flow meters come with real friction. Installing a module often means pipework, or even swapping out the measurement point altogether, with a qualified technician spending 2 to 4 hours per flow meter. Electrical cabling has to be run for power, ground, and signal, and standard GSM/3G coverage frequently hits dead zones in basements and technical rooms. On top of that, batteries need replacing every 3 to 5 years, and installation alone can cost €300 to €500 per point, all for data that arrives, at best, every 30 to 60 minutes.

Willie removes each of these frictions at once:

• A non-intrusive device with zero construction work
• A magnetic mount installed in under 10 minutes, with zero wiring
• NB-IoT, LoRaWAN, and 4G coverage that stays reliable, even underground
• A 10-year integrated battery, so there's no maintenance to plan for

The flow meter module is only half the picture. Every reading flows into the Willie SaaS platform, where it becomes something you can act on. From a single dashboard, your teams can:

• Monitor flow and volume data refreshed every 15 minutes (GDPR-compliant)
• Configure alerts for leaks, threshold overruns, night-time anomalies, and budget drift
• Build management dashboards and custom modeling across multiple sites
• Generate compliance reports automatically for local regulatory frameworks
• Integrate with ERP or BMS tools through an open API
• Rely on a guaranteed uptime backed by a Service Level Agreement
• Get AI-assisted guidance to better anticipate budget and contractual drift

Deploying connected flow meters pays for itself quickly. Organizations that switch from manual or traditional remote reading to Willie typically see:

• 15% average reduction in water withdrawals
• Leak detection in under 30 minutes, instead of discovering losses on the next bill
• Installation in under 10 minutes per point, well below the €300–500 per point charged for traditional remote reading
• Compliance reports generated automatically, freeing up the hours previously spent compiling them by hand