We all know that smart meters can make remote meter reading become true, but not many people know the supporting role of LoRawan Gateway. Because everyone’s attention is on the electricity meter, average users do not pay attention to the LoRaWan intermediate device, so not many people know some of its functions and advantages. Here, this article is to introduce what role does LoRawan gateway play in smart meters?
How does LoRawan gateway work?
The LoRa gateway uses different spreading factors, and two sets of different spreading factors are orthogonal. Therefore, in theory, several data signals with different spreading factors can be modulated and demodulated in the same wireless channel. The gateway and the cloud server are connected according to the standard IP. The terminal communicates with one or more gateways according to a single hop. All terminal communication is dual communication. In addition, the system upgrade software is remotely controlled and upgraded.
Features of LoRa Gateway:
(1) Large coverage area: The coverage distance of a single LoRa gateway is generally in the range of 3-5km, and the wide-area can even reach 10 miles, that is, above 15km;
(2) Low power consumption: The rechargeable battery power supply system can last for more than ten years;
(3) High load: LoRa gateway can handle the total number of terminal connections exceeding 20,000 due to the characteristics of the terminal without connection;
(4) Low cost: The cost of a communication network is extremely low, and it is also suitable for narrowband data transmission;
(5) Safety factor: high safety factor. Double authentication and AES-128 encryption technology ensure data security.
The LoRawan gateway has the following functions in the smart meter:
Low cost and free traffic: LoRaWAN has a good ecosystem and open-source design, which greatly reduces equipment costs; like WiFi, it works in an unlicensed frequency band and has free traffic;
Standardization, interoperability: LoRaWAN is an international standard, which realizes the “interoperability” of equipment from various manufacturers, which brings great flexibility and autonomy to users;
Intelligent and self-contained positioning: LoRaWAN’s TDOA (time difference of arrival) can achieve more accurate positioning (20-200 meters); it does not rely on GPS /BLE / WiFi, therefore, greatly reducing hardware costs and achieving better energy saving.
Theoretically, the LoRa gateway we developed supports LoRaWAN with large network capacity, flexible networking, low cost, and obvious advantages in large-scale project deployment. The LoRa network can be connected to tens of thousands of nodes, and the number can be flexibly increased or decreased according to the needs of the project, and the network has good scalability. The module cost is low, the communication fee is free, the overall operating cost is low, and it has obvious advantages in large-scale projects.