IoT analyst firm Transforma Insights has projected that the global number of smart meters will increase from 1.7 billion in 2023 to 3.4 billion by 2033, at which point the market is expected to generate annual revenues of $40 billion. While smart electricity metering will remain predominant, smart water metering is set to play an increasingly significant role.
This week, Transforma Insights released a series of reports covering the markets for smart water, gas, and electricity metering as part of its ongoing IoT market forecasts. The research highlights that smart metering will continue to be one of the most important use cases within the IoT sector.
Key findings include:
- The global number of smart meters is forecast to double over the next decade, rising from 1.7 billion at the end of 2023 to 3.4 billion by the close of 2033. Currently, over 10% of all IoT connections worldwide are smart meters, though this proportion is anticipated to decrease slightly to 9% by 2033 due to the faster growth of other IoT applications
- As of 2023, smart electricity meters lead the market with 1.15 billion connections (68%), compared to 245 million gas smart meters (14%) and 296 million water smart meters (17%). By 2033, these figures are expected to rise to 2.1 billion (62%), 510 million (15%), and 789 million (23%) respectively
- The global revenue from smart metering was $17 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $40 billion by 2033
- The technologies used for connecting smart meters are set to evolve rapidly. While a variety of technologies such as powerline communications and RF mesh are currently in use for connecting electricity meters, there will be a gradual shift towards Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) technologies. This includes both cellular massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC) technologies like NB-IoT, as well as unlicensed technologies such as LoRaWAN and Sigfox
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