Heating energy meters

Heating costs have been increasing year by year. It is therefore in the interest of every property owner to focus on reducing heatin energy consumption. After all, the measurement of energy used on heating is in some cases even stipulated by law. Heat meters will serve this purpose well, which significantly simplifies the entire process of data collection and calculations of consumption.

What are heat meters?

Heating cost meters are intelligent electronic devices that are used to measure the amount of thermal energy used by individual units in residential buildings. They are installed directly on the radiators or on the return pipe of the radiator outlet.

How to choose a suitable meter?

It should be noted that there are several types of technical solutions based on different principles of measurement. For industrial and more demanding applications, we recommend an ultrasonic meter.

An electronic meter is sufficient for residential houses, in which the water flow is directed tangentially to the impeller. The speed of rotation is measured electronically without the use of a magnetic field. The choice also depends on the dimension of the pipe and also on the flow.

Electronic and ultrasonic meters are further divided according to the method of reading into meters with visual reading and meters with radio reading.

Meters with visual reading

Total value of energy consumed is displayed directly on the meter display. The advantages are low price and long battery life. On the contrary, one of the main shortcomings is the need to make the meter accessible during the reading.

The Siemens UH 50 meter is an ultrasonic meter which, without suitable accessories, serves as a meter with a visual reading. For the possibility of radio reading it is necessary to buy an M-Bus module, a Radio module or an Analog module.

Meters with radio reading and one-way communication 868 Mhz Wireless M-Bus

These meters are equipped with a radio transmitter module and consumption values can be read remotely without the need to enter the property. For one-way communication, the meter transmits data continuously during the set reading period.

From meters with one-way communication, we recommend the ENBRA Sharky 774 meter, which is used to measure the amount of heat in closed heating and cooling systems. It is equipped with Wireless M-Bus / OMS communication interface or wired M-Bus communication. The set includes a heat meter, a pair of fittings, a pair of seals, and a ball valve with a thermowell.

Meters with radio reading and two-way communication 433 Mhz SuperCom

Meters with two-way communication contain both a transmitter and a receiver. Therefore, the data is transmitted only on demand.

There are three ways of radio readings:

1. Walk-By –  used mainly for reading meters in buildings. The worker carries a reading device consisting of a modem (receiver) and a terminal (portable PC, tablet or mobile phone). He walks through the common areas inside or outside the building and takes a reading, without having to enter the individual homes.
2. Drive-By – reading from a standing or slow-moving car. It is mainly used for reading meters that are installed on the bases of buildings or in shafts.
3. AMR – reading via radio nodes usually installed in buildings. The nodes read, usually via Wireless M-Bus, data from meters. The nodes are connected to a server, which collect data and make them available for processing. Part of this system is the so-called portal solution, which allows data to be displayed to individual users and administrators via the Internet (based on assigned rights).

ENBRA meters are supplied with fittings, seals and thermowells. These accessories must be purchased separately for Siemens meters.

Accessories for Siemens meters can be found here.

Cooling energy meters

Both Siemens and ENBRA meters can also be used to measure cold. Cool meters are devices similar to heat meters, they work on the same principle, only with a different temperature range. They are installed next to air conditioning units, for calculating the consumed cold.

The requirement for a cool meter or combined heat / cool meter must be specified to order so that the manufacturer can enter the parameters from the factory.

Calibration of energy meters

Every energy meter used for cost calculations must be verified by one of the authorized metrology centers. Check your local authorisations for more information.