The DCU (Data Collection Unit), is centrally located on the property and has a range of one square mile. MTUs (Meter Transmission Units), tie into the pulse output of any meter. They count, store and transmit consumption data two times a day, or more to the DCU. The transmission intervals are programmable. The frequency is FCC Licensed and no devices other than ours are allowed to transmit on that frequency.

The DCU makes an outbound call at approximately 1:00AM each morning for about 30 seconds. The DCU usually shares the fax line in the management office, which is almost always a POT line (plain old telephone). The DCU requires a POT line without long distance blocking. At this time it uploads consumption data to a mainframe computer. The data is then parsed and turned into a .csv file. This type of file is easily imported into most billing software packages. It is then emailed daily to the customer, monitoring service or billing company. The daily email function is especially useful in water leak detection or any other excessive utility usage.

Run Time MTUs are also available. In a Run Time system, the MTU starts a count when furnaces, fan coils or any device controlled by 24V AC are on. These counts are then divided into the Utility Bill to generate bills for individual tenants. This eliminates the need for the costly installation of Gas, Chilled Water Flow, or BTU meters.