In Italy there are 21 million meters installed of which only 17% are smart. 

The data emerge from an analysis by MeteRSit (a SIT company) marketing team which photographed the state of the art of the water meter market in Italy. A sector that could benefit from major support from the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).

“Smart” application technology is key to limiting waste. JANZ (Water Metering business unit of SIT group) will launch the “SMARTIO” meter at ENLIT Europe, which will be marketed in Italy by MeteRSIT

Padua, November 20, 2023 – There are 13.5 million water meters in Italy that may be replaced with digitized versions in the coming years. In fact, out of a total of 21 million meters installed in Italy^[1], only 3.5 million are smart (about 17%), devices that allow obtaining timely data on current water consumption.

The data emerge from a new analysis of the Italian Water Metering market carried out by the MeteRSit marketing team, a subsidiary of SIT group operating in the Metering sector (smart gas meters that also operate with 100% green hydrogen).

In a joint venture with GWF, a Swiss technology partner, MeteRSit together with JANZ – a SIT company specializing in water metering – has developed SMARTIO, a new ultrasonic smart meter for residential applications that will be presented ENLIT Europe (November 28-30).

Water metering in Italy is a sector that is expected to grow, driven by the replacement of installed meters with smart devices. A replacement that currently is not mandatory but nonetheless important and necessary, given that in Italy about 40% of water wastage (double the European percentage) is also caused by an obsolete water network. The Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) plays a central role in this modernization, with 900 million euro allocated for projects to reduce losses in water distribution networks, including digitization and network monitoring.

The dynamism of the Italian market is also perceived by the number of tenders issued by utilities and public companies to award this type of contract. Data compiled by MeteRSit reveal that from August 2022 to September 2023, 29 tenders were held to award 2.7 million water meters^[2], with a total value of contracts awarded of about 250 million Euro^[3].

Equally key to the “smartization” of the network is the use of the so-called “ultrasonic” metrological technology. This technology, which transforms mechanical water meters into smart ones, can alone halve the percentage of waste rate, while increasing awareness among the end-consumer and allowing energy operators to promptly identify leaks at an early stage.

“To date, only about 20% of Italian users have a smart meter installed, compared to an average of 30% in Europe,” said Gianpaolo Anselmi, Head of SIT’s Water Metering business unit, “according to our estimates, meters installed in Italy have an average age of 25 years, and are therefore ripe for modernization, which can help improve the sustainable management of the resource, along with a civil awareness that is now urgent. In fact, we are among the European countries subject to medium to high water stress, as we use, on average, between 30% and 35% of renewable water resources, compared to the European efficiency target of not extracting more than 20% of available renewable water resources. In this context,” Anselmi underlines, “our roadmap of products for the precise reading of water consumption is structured and ready to respond to the needs of Italian and European markets. That is why the launch of SMARTIO coincides with ENLIT Europe, where we will show for the first time to our customers and partners the ultrasonic water meter for residential applications born from the collaboration between SIT Group and GWF”.

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^[1] Figure updated to July 2023. Of the 21 million, 4 are “sub metering” meters. Sub-metering is the secondary metering of utilities through a system that allows an owner, property management company, condominium association, homeowners association, or other multi-tenant property to bill tenants for individual metered utility usage.

^[2] Source: ROGA (Rapporti Operativi Gare Appalto, “Operational Tender Reports”).

^[3] The value of installations and ancillary services is not counted in this amount.