Case Study: City of Santa Barbara improves efficiency and accelerates customer empowerment with a comprehensive AMI water solution

SHELTON, Conn., May 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A new case study describes how the City of Santa Barbara, California, employed a Hubbell water solution comprised of Aclara RF^® advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and Armorcast^® custom meter-box lids. The solution improves efficiency by reducing manual meter reading and accelerates customer empowerment with new tools to track usage.

The recently completed deployment allowed the city to transition from manual meter-reading processes, which were both time-consuming and costly. The city's meter-reading staff, which previously spent 90% of its time reading meters, now directs its efforts to support water system maintenance and enhance customer service. 

The comprehensive AMI system provides hourly meter data, which the city uses to communicate water usage to customers through a user-friendly portal. By proactively providing this data, the city encourages customers to monitor water usage and explore water efficiency recommendations. 

Additionally, the city can now send high-usage alerts to customers based on analysis of the meter data. These alerts help residents avoid high water bills and potential property damage by catching leaks early.  

The case study also details the use of meter box enclosure lids that allow radio frequency (RF) signals to penetrate and transmit water meter data via a utility-owned, FCC-licensed network. To reduce project costs and installation time, Santa Barbara replaced existing cast iron meter box lids with RF-friendly versions, where possible, to decrease the number of all-new meter boxes needed.

Santa Barbara already boasts a rich history of water conservation that stretches back to the 1970s, and the newly installed AMI system will further that tradition. Currently, community water usage is the same as it was in the 1950s, even though the city's population has more than doubled in the past 60 years.

As California faces hotter and drier conditions, with the California Department of Water Resources predicting a 10% reduction in water supplies by 2040, Santa Barbara's proactive measures exemplify the critical system improvements needed to adapt to the evolving environmental landscape.  Read the case study.

About Hubbell

Hubbell Incorporated is a leading manufacturer of utility and electrical solutions enabling customers to operate critical infrastructure safely, reliably, and efficiently. With 2024 revenues of $5.6 billion, Hubbell solutions electrify economies and energize communities. The corporate headquarters is located in Shelton, CT.

SOURCE Hubbell Incorporated