Italy invests in smart meters, IoT grows 40%

Energy prices are increasing, while those for smart sensors are going down; so why not set up a smart meter system to reduce costs and improve energy management?

Due to the overall adoption of smart gas meters in Mexico, Lebanon, UK, India, China, and the US, smart city initiatives are also gaining traction in Italy, registering a 20 percent growth in 2016. Currently, there are 7.5 million connected cars in Italy, while smart home gadgets and smart logistics are on the rise.

IoT has grown with over 40 percent on the Italian market, reaching EUR 2.8 billion, according to research conducted by the University of Milan on connected cars and smart metering systems, and an extra 34 percent growth is expected by 2018, when 11 million systems will be deployed, as encouraged by local law.

By 2021, the smart electric meter market is forecast to reach $13.16 billion globally, according to research company Technavio.

“The global deployment of smart grids is increasing at a rapid pace, with various countries enforcing ambitious smart grid plans to include grid applications like smart electric meters, SCADA systems, IT, and other communication networks,” says Thanikachalam Chandrasekaran, a lead analyst at Technavio for power research.