Gutermann Taps Telekom to Find Leaky Ducts with IoT

Gutermann, Swiss company specialized in leak detection, and Deutsche Telekom are networking infrastructures for water supply. The solution identifies leaks using acoustic signals - early, precisely and with minimal installation effort.

Data transmission from the pipe shafts uses the NarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT) machine and sensor network, which is particularly suitable thanks to its deep penetration.

Intelligent connectivity for water pipe networks
Water is becoming an increasingly valuable resource. But public water supply pipelines are experiencing high losses worldwide. According to data published by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in 2020, these losses amount to up to ten percent in the German drinking water supply network alone. Causes include leaks due to material fatigue or bursting as a result of pipeline pressure. It is essential to locate the leakage points precisely, repair the damage quickly, and keep water leakage to a minimum.

Acoustic leak detection offered by Gutermann in cooperation with Deutsche Telekom helps to quickly detect and precisely locate leaks in the pipelines. For this purpose, Gutermann installs so-called noise loggers in the pipe networks at regular intervals. Simultaneously, the robust devices measure sounds in their environment and send the noise profiles to the cloud. An analysis software automatically filters out background noises that only show up on individual sensors. The noise profiles of the devices are then compared with each other. If there is a leak, the noise profiles of neighboring sensors are identical.

For such radio connectivity of loggers in underground pipe shafts, deep penetration is essential. The energy-efficient NB-IoT mobile communications standard reliably sends the acoustic data to the cloud. A radio module including a Deutsche Telekom SIM card is integrated into the loggers for this purpose. The loggers adhere magnetically to the metal pipes or are mounted on shut-off valves. Additional devices such as an above-ground signal amplifier are not necessary. For the leakage specialists and their public water supply customers, this means minimal installation effort without bureaucratic hurdles: They do not need permits to mount additional devices on lampposts or other infrastructure.

International and economical: usable worldwide thanks to NB-IoT

"Thanks to NarrowBand IoT, which is available in more and more country networks of Deutsche Telekom and its partners, our solution can be used worldwide," says Gutermann CEO Uri Gutermann. "Deutsche Telekom supports us not only with the infrastructure, but also with dedicated contacts who advise us on international projects. That is enormously important for us as a small but global player that is active in over 100 countries. Because we can't build relationships with local telecom providers in all these countries." Other benefits of the NB-IoT solution: "The cost per measuring point has dropped; we only need one device, no more repeaters, and we don't have any installation costs. This has made it much more economical to roll out our solution on a large scale."

"Connecting water pipe networks for acoustic leak detection shows the full potential of NarrowBand IoT. No other standard would allow such reliable penetration from underground shafts," says Dennis Nikles, CEO Deutsche Telekom IoT GmbH (DT IoT). "In times of climate change, the application thus makes an important contribution to greater sustainability in water management and to the security of supply of clean drinking water for cities and communities."