| news4all 3 | 2023 | November 21, 2023 |
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Dear Readers,
The Enlit Europe 2023 will take place in Paris and will feature a larger OMS-Group booth design with 41 windows in the OMS Product Wall – 11 interoperable OMS products more than in Frankfurt in 2022. We are looking forward to welcoming you at the booth for a technical exchange and especially for a networking brunch on Wednesday. You can find out more about our presence at Enlit Europe in this OMS Newsletter. Furthermore, we welcome four new OMS-Group members and five new OMS-certified devices. Enjoy reading our latest newsletter. Best regards, Jörg Fischer Head of the OMS Working Group Marketing |
Over 30 Manufacturers Showcase OMS-Compliant Products at Enlit's OMS Booth – Networking Brunch on Wednesday
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The range of interoperable metering devices using the Open Metering System (OMS) has increased significantly this year. More than 30 OMS-Group members will present a total of 41 of their interoperable product solutions at Enlit Europe 2023 from November 28th to 30th in Paris.
After the German Bundestag passed the "Gesetz zum Neustart der Digitalisierung der Energiewende” (Act on the Digitisation of the Energy Transition) in April, the introduction of smart metering systems is on everyone's lips. The OMS Standard offers the ideal interoperable solution in the smart meter rollout. Many new metering developments will be incorporated into the "OMS Product Wall", which has been expanded by 11 windows, at the OMS-Group booth in the French _Jorg_Fischer_195x126.jpg) capital. This year, the following OMS members will be represented at booth A12 in hall 7.2: Apator, Axioma Metering, B Meters, Carlo Gavazzi, DeviceLab, Diehl Metering, E. Wehrle, Elvaco, Engelmann, Friendcom, G2 misuratori, GWF, Ing. Büro Lertes, Integra Metering, Iskraemeco, Janz, Kamstrup, Landis + Gyr, Lansen, Maddalena, Nasys, Pietro Fiorentini, PiiGAB, Qundis, Relay, Sensus, Solvimus, Sontex, Stackforce, Wasser-Geräte, Weptech and Zenner. The OMS experts will also be available for technical exchanges on topics such as product certification, product listing and the Conformance Test Tool.
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On Wednesday, November 29th, the OMS-Group invites all interested visitors to an OMS Networking Brunch at the OMS booth, starting at 11 a.m. While enjoying finger food and drinks, it will be possible to discuss current topics and the Product Wall devices with experts from the OMS-Group. © Photos: Jörg Fischer
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The Enlit on the Web
A Warm Welcome to Our Four New Members: ADD-Production s.r.l., Janz S.A., EMH metering GmbH & Co. KG and DeviceLab ApS
ADD Grup has been developing and manufacturing high-precision equipment for electricity and water metering systems for over 30 years. ADD Grup's portfolio includes the ADDAX electricity meter, the ADDRA water meter, and the innovative ADDERRA energy sub-metering service. 7.5 million smart meters manufactured by ADD Grup have already been installed in a total of 33 countries around the world. In their manufacturing processes they use advanced communications’ technologies that provide utilities with the best communication performance and availability of data.
Why did ADD-Production s.r.l. become an OMS-Group member? To give ADD-Production’s customers in the water metering sector more options to improve data collection, the company has decided to become a member of OMS-Group to implement LoRaWAN-WMBus dual stack using the OMS protocol. 
Find innovative, disruptive, and robust solutions to transform the world and guarantee the planet’s future. This is the daily mission of the Janz team which, since 1915, has been committed to developing innovative solutions for the preservation, monitoring, and integral management of water resources.
Water meters, sensors, software, and connectivity are the products that make up Janz' portfolio. Janz technology has conquered hundreds of water management entities, public and private, distributors, industries, and integrators around the world, who trust the information provided by our solutions to manage their resources and systems. Behind each of their innovations is the path of a team driven by passion, which constantly remakes and retouches the dream that set it on its way, to guarantee the preservation of the planet’s resources for future generations. Why did Janz S.A. become an OMS-Group member? Janz wants to be able to guarantee to their customers that their products are compatible with the OMS ecosystem. 
EMH metering is one of the world’s leading technology companies for innovative digital meter technology in the energy industry. With intelligent and coordinated metering systems, they lay the foundation for the digitalisation of the energy industry and for forward-looking business models in energy supply companies. With their meters and communication solutions “Made in Germany” they are ready for the future markets of “smart metering”, “smart grid”, “e-mobility” and “smart home”.
Why did EMH metering GmbH & Co. KG become an OMS-Group member? As a manufacturer of meters, EMH metering uses the OMS Standard for their solutions. With a membership they can actively participate in further development. 
DeviceLab ApS has specialised in server and laptop software to decrypt and decode datagrams transmitted by wireless M-Bus and OMS compliant meters and sensors. The Payload Extractor on-premises server app is intended for fixed network metering platforms needing support for wireless M-Bus and OMS compliant meters and sensors. The Payload Collector laptop app is delivered with an 868 MHz USB receiver and is intended for on-site wireless AMR diagnostics and for R&D device verification purposes.
Why did DeviceLab ApS become an OMS-Group member? DeviceLab strives to provide the best wireless M-Bus and OMS parsing software, and as a consumer of the datagrams transmitted by the large variety of OMS compliant devices, they are looking forward to building a closer connection to the manufacturers of these devices. |
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The Number of Certified Devices in the OMS Product Listing Reaches 80
Since June 2023 there is an increase of five new OMS-certified devices supporting OMS Generation 4. 
Itron/Allmess contributes three new devices: The "EquaScan eHCA RF V2", an electronic heat cost allocator with radio communication, the "EquaScan hMIU RF", a heat meter module and the "EquaScan wMIU RF", a water meter module. This was followed by two devices from Maddalena, the "ElecTo Sonic", an electronic ultrasonic meter, and the "ElecTo MVM Multiprotocol", an electronic volumetric meter. Furthermore, numerous certificates and datasheets for existing devices were extended or renewed, which clearly shows that the interoperable OMS devices are experiencing high and steady demand. OMS certification ensures compatibility with the OMS Specification and opens a broad market for manufacturers of interoperable smart meters. Currently, 80 devices are listed on the OMS website. |
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Relevance of OMS for Smart Metering/Submetering Using the Smart Meter Gateway-Infrastructure with OMS
With the initiation of the German legislation called GNDEW (Gesetz zum Neustart der Digitalisierung der Energiewende) in May 2023, the rollout of the Smart Meter Gateway (SMGW) in Germany is now accurately defined. As reported in the latest OMS Newsletter news4all in May 2023, the SMGW will serve as a centralised communication platform for future buildings, ensuring maximum data protection and security. As such a secure communication-unit, the SMGW becomes the functional core of smart metering systems to enable a „sector coupling “. Which means the main measurement of electricity can be bundled with measuring of gas, water or heating energy and submetering. Besides the requirements to functionality and security, components in the smart meter system environment have to fulfil demands regarding the interoperability. In Germany these requirements are defined in technical directives (Technische Richtlinien, TR), generated by the Federal Office for Information Security (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik, BSI). The TR-03109-1 defines the above-named requirements for the following relevant interfaces: the Local Metrological Network (LMN), which connects meters for electricity, gas, thermal energy and water and the Home Area Network (HAN); the interface for Controllable Local Systems (CLS) is categorised to the HAN. Details of the optional connections to the CLS are specified in the expected TR-03109-5. 
The Open Metering System (OMS) enables interoperability between metering devices and integrates the media electricity, gas, heat, and water incl. submetering in one system. By supporting the development and evolution of a future-proofed communication standard, the OMS Specification’s „Volume 2 – Primary Communication“ in context to the EN-13757 are also relevant and mandatory for wireless connections at the LMN interface of the SMGW referring to the TR-03109-1.
Regarding the Heating Costs Ordinance (Heizkostenverordnung, HKVO) in Germany, interoperability becomes more relevant for submetering-devices, as well. Furthermore, the HKVO refers to the State-of-the-Art compliance, which prospectively could require the connection to the SMGW for submetering. Following the released BSI papers in 2021, especially the „Step Model for the further Development of Standards for the Digitalisation of the Energy Transition“ and as well due to the State of the Art, it is recommendable to observe the expected TR-03109-5. The TR-5 will prospectively describe the State of the Art for communication units connected to the HAN, respectively, the CLS interface – and also submetering-units are "technical equipment" for the purposes of the TR. Connecting the submetering-devices to the CLS  interface and transmitting metering data over the SMGW is an available solution provided by QUNDIS called „BSI-conformed Submetering “.
Conclusion: OMS is a future-proofed standard, implemented in the specification of the TR-03109-1, which supports the evolution of interoperable metering devices as a key target. Furthermore BSI-conformed submetering over the smart meter gateway-infrastructure is available for OMS devices. Text: Ingo Stracke, Member of the OMS Working Group Marketing
© Photos: QUNDIS |
News from the OMS-Group’s Executive Board
It has been eight months since the last news from the OMS EB. In that issue, I spoke about the necessity of having a statutory basis in Europe regarding remotely readable cold-water meters.
With the announcement of the “Declaration for an EU Blue Deal” in October 2023 of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) we are happy to see that the EESC is leading the way as the first European institution to take concrete steps to address the water crisis. Furthermore, they call on the European Commission to start making water a primary issue and to propose an EU Blue Deal as a standalone strategic priority, on a par with the EU Green Deal. 
Among the challenges the EESC addresses are a “sustainable and resilient water infrastructure” and a “sustainable use and consumption of water and fostering new opportunities”. Water meters are a small but integral element to the realisation of a possible EU Blue Deal, however, as often is the case, they are not specifically mentioned. It is important to note, you do not have to be an engineer to know, you cannot monitor and improve, what you do not first measure. Therefore, we intend to team up with associations active in the water sector to offer the OMS communication as the solution to make data from water meters available as a basis for one of the already identified opinions on the topic of “Water efficient consumption and consumer awareness about their water footprint”. The OMS EB has already held its final meeting for 2023 in the beginning of November. A highlight of the year will be the General Meeting of the OMS-Group, to be held on December 7 at DIN in Berlin after three years of virtual meetings. The OMS GM will decide about further changes in the OMS-Group’s Articles of Association, thus securing the OMS-Group’s assets regarding certification and licencing. So, stay tuned for more information after the General Meeting 2023 of the OMS-Group. Andreas Bolder Spokesperson of the Executive Board |
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Events 2023/2024
Meet the OMS experts! Here are some of the dates to mark in your calendar: 
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