Payment for heating by an individual metering device will cost several times cheaper than reimbursing the cost for some incredible standards, most of which are heat losses during the transportation of water from the CHP to the house.
For this reason, the installation of heat meters for heating is a priority task that any homeowner is obliged to solve. Moreover, this task is very simple to solve, since the modern market of instrumentation is literally clogged with an abundance of models of heat meters.
Benefits
If you decide to resort to installing a meter, then as a result you will pay for the heating provided to you strictly at a fixed rate and only the amount that will exactly correspond to the meter readings. In this case, it will be possible to regulate the access of heat to the house or apartment, taking into account weather conditions. This action can be carried out both manually using a special locking device, and in automatic mode using a special heat control system.
Design features
Heat meters for heating consist of the following main elements:
- computing module;
- two sensors that record temperature;
- flow sensor.
These elements are combined into a single plastic case, equipped with nozzles for subsequent connection of the meter to pipelines. Today, many heat meters for heating are equipped with autonomous power, which allows these devices to function without an electric energy source. In other words, if your apartment or house is left without electricity for a long time, the meter will take heat into account.
In addition, any meter must have a certificate and passport. In the documentation, the manufacturer must indicate the date of its first inspection.
The principle of the heat meter for heating
This equipment is equipped with two sensors, one of which is a temperature sensor, the second - flow. The task of the first is to measure the temperature, the second sensor calculates the amount of heat consumed.
The main component of any meter is a heat meter, which is a kind of calculator that provides counting results. To do this, the amount of heat consumed by the meter is multiplied by the temperature. The result is a testimony for which you must pay. Here's how a heat meter works for heating.
Design classification
Currently, there is an incredible number of models of heating meters, which combines a similar principle of operation, the difference is only in the amount of information stored in their archives and a set of additional functions. Consider the main types of these devices.
Mechanical
Mechanical heat meters for heating record the amount of coolant entering the system. In such equipment, an impeller is used as a reading device, which is located in the meter body. When the coolant moves through the pipelines, the impeller rotates, which transmits torque to the shaft with special drums. On the surface of the drums are numbers. However, after several seasons the impeller is clogged with rust and scale particles.
Electromagnetic
Heat meters for heating in an apartment of this type record the movement of the coolant in the housing when the vector of the electromagnetic field is deviated. In general, this device is an improved version of a mechanical meter, inert to the degree and quality of coolant contamination. The accuracy of electromagnetic equipment is an order of magnitude higher than its mechanical counterpart. For this reason, these devices are gradually replacing obsolete mechanical type meters.
Whirlwind
Vortex devices record turbulence in the flow of circulating fluid, which washes an artificially created obstacle. These heat meters for heating in the apartment on the battery can be mounted both in horizontal wiring near the heater and in a vertical riser. Such equipment works equally well as domestic and communal meters.
Ultrasonic
Ultrasonic heat meters for heating record the flow velocity (sound wave), which moves along a section of a known length. This equipment is able to work endlessly due to the lack of moving elements. The only drawback of the ultrasonic meter is its high sensitivity to the quality of the coolant. It reacts to scale, scale and even air bubbles. For this reason, it is recommended that such devices be installed in front of the filter cartridge.
What affects the accuracy of the device
When calculating the amount of heat consumed, the error of the counter depends on the errors of the temperature sensors, flow meter and calculator that processes the collected values.
As a rule, devices with an allowable error in calculating the consumed heat in the range from ± 6 to ± 10% are used for apartment metering.
The actual error may be higher than the base, which is due to the technical characteristics of the constituent elements. The error of the heat meter increases in the following situations:
- The installation was carried out in violation of the manufacturers' requirements (as a rule, manufacturers void their warranty obligations if the meter was installed by an unlicensed organization).
- The flow rate of the coolant is significantly lower than the minimum flow rate, which is indicated in the technical characteristics of the device.
- The temperature difference between the coolant in the supply and return pipes is less than 3 ° C.
It is also worth paying attention of fans of magnetic braking of counters to the fact that modern equipment has protection against a magnetic field.
Mounting
Any installation work of the heating system, including the installation of a heat meter, must be performed only by specialists. To install the meter for heating, you will need the following:
- Order design documentation.
- Coordinate the package of documents with the municipal service and get permission to install the meter.
- With the approval of the commission, the project is implemented, and heat meters for heating in the apartment take their place.
- In conclusion, the meter must be registered with the municipal service (otherwise it is considered invalid), and only then put it into use.
After the above procedures, you must call specialists who must do the following:
- To develop a project.
- Perform documentation approval.
- Install metering device.
- Formally register the equipment.
- Hand over the meter and transfer it to the supervisory organization.
Conclusion
Summing up all of the above, it is worth paying special attention to the fact that any metering device (individual, utility) must have a passport and certificate that will confirm its compliance with operating standards. Also, every four years, communal heat supply services must check the meters. A mark on the results of the inspection should be reflected in the passport of the measuring equipment.