Many people are forced to install a heat meter on the battery due to large utility bills, most of which are for heating. Lack of proper thermal insulation, installation defects and heating systems that have served their time lead to high tariffs and at the same time cold batteries. Devices that account for the consumption of relevant services, allow you to pay only what really was received. Since the bills indicate the data of the common house meter, the calculations are based on square meters of housing.
What you need to know
When deciding on the need for such a device, it is worth remembering that it is not a means of saving, but it makes it possible to pay only for current consumption, and not for general, divided into all residents. The heat meter on the battery in the apartment notes any temperature fluctuations and allows you to keep a record of consumption only if the temperature regulator is working properly and the unit is correctly executed. If before leaving home, for example, to work, reduce the temperature by at least 1 ° C, then by the end of the month you will notice an economic bonus of 6%.
Required documents
It is also worth remembering that the installation of such a device carries with it many difficulties, and, in addition to collecting a certain list of documents, unforeseen expenses may arise . It will take several weeks to independently prepare the documentation, you will have to visit the relevant institutions and collect the following:
- design data of the heat consumption device;
- technical conditions set by the authority providing the building with heat;
- permission from the building balance holder.
Additional coordination of all calculated data with the set values is required. Installation is carried out in accordance with all project information, after which an agreement is concluded with the energy supplier for the basic documents for making payments based on data from the apartment meter. Next, the representative of the relevant authority draws up the certificate of commissioning and registers the device.
As it might seem at first glance, this does not cause any particular difficulties, but each of the items may imply an additional list of documentation, and the receipt of each of them may take up to two weeks.
Features
Prices for individual metering devices on average start at 4,000 rubles. Ultraviolet, more modern mechanisms will cost more, but their installation is not always rational in communal conditions.
For a vertical heating circuit, several sections are connected to one riser. In this case, one riser pipe goes down, and the other comes out from above. Pipes in a horizontal pattern come out from the bottom and come back. Such wiring has become most widespread in modern homes, although its arrangement is more expensive than the vertical version. Both types of breeding, one way or another, relate to water supply.
Heat meter on the battery: principle of operation
Such an individual device for rooms with a horizontal pipeline scheme is provided. Its principle of operation is based on temperature measurements at the entrance and exit to the system and the subsequent calculation of the energy spent by the coolant. Consumption data are recorded for several approaches, after which the obtained indicators are processed. In new devices, there is a function of access to a PC and saving values for 10 years.
The heat meter for the battery has a flowmeter, 2 temperature sensors and a calculator in the design. The latter can have autonomous or external power. For the first option, it is necessary to connect to a 24 V power supply and, accordingly, to install an energy transformer, the second model is characterized by a short service life of the power elements and sometimes insufficient wire lengths.
Varieties
The type of device is determined by the installed flow sensor, which has three variations.
The operation of ultrasonic flow meters is based on the use of a signal receiver and emitters with the opposite location. Externally, heat meters for the heating battery are presented in the form of a hollow section of the pipeline with equipment in the form of an LCD display, sensors, a thermal meter and thermometers. To count the data you just need to click on the button. Such a device allows you to take indicators while outside the house, while it does not form hydraulic pressure and is informative. Among the shortcomings, buyers note the need for a UPS connection with an unstable flow of electricity and the possibility of incorrect data with a turbid or airy coolant.
The electromagnetic heat meter on the battery is a small hydrodynamic generator. It is notable for accurate performance provided it is installed correctly. The main disadvantage is the formation of salts on the electrodes, which reduces the accuracy of the measurements, which are also influenced by electrical appliances.
The meaning of the work of mechanical meters is as follows: a small turbine is introduced into the liquid, where it rotates depending on the flow rate. Such devices have the function of receiving remote signals to determine the current flow rate. Also, the heat meter for the battery is easy to use, budget cost and powered by its own source - batteries. It is possible to obtain greater savings due to the installation of a regulator with a board and valves. The disadvantages include the lack of the ability to read data at a distance and store information received per day, and they also form pressure in the system and are subject to wear and tear, like any other mechanisms.
Installing heat meters on the battery
Installation of the device depends on its functionality and does not cause any particular difficulties. On the system, it is fixed to the feed and approaches the feed bend. Next, two shut-off valves are installed, one on each side of the device. In the direction of the movement of water is placed a mesh for filtering.
Only a company that has special permission to conduct such services is entitled to connect the device. Specialists conduct a phased installation, inspect about the properties, register the unit and put into operation. It is worth noting that many organizations involved in the installation of devices carry out subsequent maintenance. They also undertake the verification.
Saving
If the apartment has high-quality thermal insulation and a constant temperature in the region of 25 degrees Celsius, using the controller you can change the heating mode to a more comfortable one, while a significantly smaller number of gigacalories will be spent. With the help of shut-off valves, adjustment and control of the supply of thermal energy to the radiators is carried out. A noticeable difference in scores occurs even at one turn of the crane.
Apartment heat meters for the battery are installed mainly on a horizontal heating circuit having a separate overlapping department. Of particular importance is the location of the living space. People living in corner apartments on the top and first floors, subject to a comfortable temperature range from 15 to 22 degrees Celsius, will not notice much budget savings.
The choice
Of particular importance are the degree of error, the amount of incoming data and their archiving. When choosing, the main criteria are the energy input circuit and the type of coolant. At the same time, it is worth paying attention to the maximum data that is known to specialists of the corresponding authority. The selection of a specific option is determined by the pipe connection of the device and the dimensions of the pipeline system. The heat meter for the battery, the reviews of the various models of which are very different, usually has a smaller outlet size with respect to the pipes, which leads to an increase in hydraulic pressure at the installation site. This may affect the degree of error.
In the model of the device, important parameters are the type of the hot water supply device, thermal inputs and possible pressure drops. This indicator is mainly small.