What is a Heat Meter (Calorimeter)?
“What is a Heat Meter (Calorimeter)?” This question is one of the most researched topics on the internet.
Calorimeter, also called Heat Meter, is a device that calculates the energy consumed by each independent section in projects where heating or cooling is provided by the central system. Calorimeters are generally connected directly on the line coming out of the independent section.
How does the calorimeter work?
The calorimeter consists of 3 main elements. These are temperature sensor pair, flow sensor and calculator unit. The temperature sensors determine the temperature of the water entering the independent section (Apartment, Office, Shop, etc.) and the temperature difference of the water leaving the independent section, and the flow sensor determines the flow rate (how much water passes per unit time) of the water passing through the independent section conditioning or hot water installation. The calculation unit calculates the total amount of energy consumed with Time, Flow and Temperature difference information.
Why Is Accurate Measurement Calorimeter Important?
In the projects where heating is provided by the central system, 30% of the total natural gas amount to be paid every month is determined according to the square meter of the independent section, and the amount of 70% is determined according to the usage rate, in accordance with the Regulation No 26847 Regulation on the Distribution of Heating and Sanitary Hot Water Expenses in Central Heating and Sanitary Hot Water Systems
In other words, 70% of the amount is shared for each independent section, taking into account the values taken from the heat meters.
Recently, due to the increase in energy costs, the importance of accurate measurement heat meters has increased.
The fact that the meters are working smoothly does not mean that they are measuring correctly. Statistically, over the years, deviations occur in the measurements of heat meters due to factors such as product quality and installation water quality. For this reason, periodic inspection of heat meters every 5 years is mandatory.
The heat meter should be considered as an investment and a reliable device should be purchased. Low quality and cheap products may soon be affected by the installation, resulting in measurement deviations and unfair distribution of energy cost expenses. The experience we have gained, especially in the projects where the heat meters passed the inspection, the imbalances are observed in the changes made in order to get rid of the responsibilities with cheap heat meters that cannot pass the inspection.
When purchasing new meters, you can make sure that the heat meters are sold with the correct setting from the factory by having inspections performed in laboratories (services) accredited by the Ministry. QMET ultrameter heat meters are inspected by QLAB and offered to the market.
How Do I Know It’s the Right Heat Meter (Calorimeter)?
- Accurate measurement and low measurement deviations for many years.
- Resistance to installation factors.
- Being serviceable and Existence of inspection and setting interfaces.
- Having the use of a Jumo temperature sensor pair.
- Battery capacity and life.
- Water and dust resistance.
- Being resistant to disassembly and assembly operations.
Ultrasonic Calorimeter
Heat meters are divided into many different groups depending on the flow measurement principle. Among these measurement principles, the most widely used method is ultrasonic measurement. Ultrasonic heat meters provide flow measurement with transducers that produce sound waves. The flow rate is calculated depending on the velocities of the sound waves produced mutually in the direction of the flow and in the opposite direction of the flow. It is a type of meter that is more durable, long-lasting and precise because it does not contain any moving parts.
Mechanical Calorimeter
They are heat meters that measure the instantaneous flow depending on the rotation of the turbine in the flow sensor and the volume corresponding to each revolution or depending on the rotation speed. They are divided into two groups as single-jet and multi-jet.
What is M-Bus ( Meter-Bus ) Calorimeter ( Heat Meter ) ?
It is the communication protocol that enables remote access to the energy values measured by the heat meters and is also the European Standard EN 13757. Each meter sends its digital data to the M-Bus converter via a pair of wires. These data are transferred from the M-Bus converter to the computer and appear as defined energy values.
Different brands of meters with M-Bus communication module can be used together.
