 SmartMeasurement offers a variety of energy flow meters. Inline-style meters that employ electromagnetic and ultrasonic flow measurement technologies as well as clamp on ultrasonic style meters are available. Contact us today to learn more about these high performance, high precision flowmeters.
For the past several decades, efforts to reduce energy usage have been considerable as energy costs and environmental concerns continue to increase exponentially. The incentive for reducing energy consumption is clear – it generates a variety of benefits from an economic standpoint. Energy efficiency leads to reduced energy costs, which in turn enhances a facility whether it be residential, institutional, or industrial. One area that presents major opportunities for reductions in energy use is Heating Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems used for homes, apartment buildings and large institutional buildings such as schools and hospitals. Larger HVAC systems, such as those installed in apartment or condominium developments are increasingly facing expanded and more stringent regulations, guidelines, and initiatives emphasizing the importance of energy-efficient HVAC systems. This is where the BTU/Energy flowmeter finds it’s niche – by providing the ability to accurately & reliably monitor both water and energy usage for HVAC systems, the energy flowmeter enables the operator to identify and pinpoint areas within the system that may be optimized for greater efficiency and to manage the system for best overall energy consumption. Learn more About Mag Flow Meter.  Â
The flow meter is what makes it possible for operators to monitor and optimize the performance of the HVAC systems for the maximum possible energy efficiency. Historically, these types of applications have made use of mechanical flowmeters such as nutating disc or tangential turbine/paddlewheel style devices. While these types of meters provide the desired functionality, their accuracy is only mid-range and the mechanical nature of their operation makes them subject to normal wear-and-tear and they will eventually require replacement. Newer technology flow measurement techniques such as transit-time ultrasonic and electromagnetic have been adapted to perform BTU/energy measurement and provide a number of advantages over the traditionally used mechanical devices. These advantages include superior accuracy (up to ±0.5% of reading), lower pressure loss, reduced straight run requirements, and lower overall long term cost of ownership.
HVAC systems have the potential to consume a tremendous amount of electricity, which in turn can generate a great deal of air pollution. According to an estimate from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, buildings’ HVAC systems account for more than one third of energy use and carbon emissions in the United States. Energy flowmeters are the key component that allows operators to measure the BTU/energy consumption of and thereby reduce energy consumption for HVAC systems.
In recent years, a number of features and improvements have been introduced for energy flowmeters offered in the marketplace. Energy flowmeters presently available for use by the HVAC industry are available with features such as non-invasive flow measurement, digital communication protocols such as Modbus and BACNET, integrated data logging, and accuracy grades as high as ± 0.5% of reading. Flow meters or energy flowmeters demonstrating a very high rate of accuracy are able to be deployed as revenue-grade thermal energy meters which may be used to generate billing for energy usage. Sub-metering applications, which are becoming increasingly popular, are made possible by these newer-technology meters. In sub-metering applications, individual users or tenants within a large residential or commercial building have their energy consumption monitored using an energy flowmeter and their usage is then billed based on the readings provided by the BTU meter. Learn more information for Mag Flow Meters
Smartmeasurement’ s ALMAGEG energy flow meters are electromagnetic flowmeters that feature integrated RTD temperature sensor inputs and software that performs the energy consumption calculation and displays the result directly on the instrument’s readout. The magnetic flow measurement technology is suitable for use with any electrically conductive fluids having conductivities greater than 5 µS/cm. The no-moving-parts design of the electromagnetic flowmeter makes it an ideal choice for the replacement of older technology BTU/energy meters such as turbine or paddlewheel types. Electromagnetic flow technology offers the best performance for the vast majority of hot and chilled and water applications, including new installations and small line sizes below 24″ (600 mm). For more discussion on magnetic flow meters please go to: Magnetic flow metersÂ
Electromagnetic flow meters provide a number of benefits in HVAC applications including ease of operation, the low maintenance afforded by the no-moving- parts design, superior longevity and overall lower cost of ownership versus traditional mechanical flow measurement technologies. The ALMAEG offers an advantage over ultrasonic meters because it can measure accurately even if entrained particles or bubbles are present in the fluid, which most lower cost ultrasonic meters are unable to do. Magnetic flowmeters are also more widely used in general industrial energy measurement applications such as chillers, heat exchangers or situations where higher accuracies are required.
Some advantages and disadvantages of magnetic energy meters are as follows:
Advantages:
The most accurate flow measurement technique among all energy flow meters; up to ± 0.2% of reading
Able to measure fluids with particles and bubbles present
Capable of measurement over a wide range of temperatures; -58-356 °F (-50 ~ +180˚C)
Disadvantages:
Higher cost than ultrasonic technology
Higher installation costs versus clamp-on ultrasonic meters
Cannot be used in energy measurement applications where portability is required
Inline ultrasonic energy flow meters such as Smartmeasurement’ s Alsonic Building Automation-Energy meters or the AlsonicBAEG provide a low-cost alternative to mechanical hot water/BTU meters. For a more detailed discussion on ultrasonic flow meters please go to: Water & Energy Ultrasonic flow metersÂ
The ALSONICBAEG employs transit-time ultrasonic flow technology combined with two integrated PT1000 RTD temperature sensors for calculating both total and instantaneous energy consumption. The AlsonicBAEG energy meters are available in sizes from ½” to 1½” with brass and NPT threads (other materials are available upon request) with flanged carbon steel for sizes 2″ and over. The standard version can accommodate operating temperatures of up 95°C (203°F) with optional operation of up to 130°C (266°F) available upon request. The AlsonicBAEG meets the standards for residential and commercial utility metering. The alphanumeric LCD displays heat consumption, temperature, flow total, operation time, and flow rate with data storage for of up 18 months of operation. The meter also has a remote readout configurable with CJ/T188 and N1434 BTU/heat meter standards configurable via RS485/Modbus, BACnet, GSM/GPRS wireless, for integration with any AMR/AMI system.
Advantages:
Lowest cost energy flow meter
May be deployed as a drop-in replacement for some existing how water meters
Can be used in homes and apartments
Can be deployed on smaller pipe sizes versus clamp-on ultrasonic
Disadvantages:
Cannot measure water with more than 1% particles/bubbles
Higher installation costs than clamp-on ultrasonic meters
Cannot be used in energy measurement applications where portability is required
Temperature range of -32-195 °F (0 ~ +90˚C); lower than magnetic energy meters.
The AlsonicEG clamp on ultrasonic energy meters are extremely useful in situations where a new meter needs to be installed on an existing pipeline or an exiting meter needs to be replaced. Older technology meters such as turbines and paddlewheel, as well as newer technology meters like the mag meter require either inline or insertion type mounting. This means that either the the process must be shut down or the piping where the meter needs to be installed must be isolated in order to accommodate the installation. Additional labor is required to either cut the pipe and weld flanges for inline installation or to install weld-o-let for insertion style meters. The clamp-on installation method used for the ultrasonic meter make all of this additional material and labor unnecessary thereby allowing for significantly lower installation costs. Overall, clamp-on technology offers advantages for a variety of applications including residential and institutional HVAC, thermal storage, power plant, condenser water, chemical feed, and ammonia feed. Moreover, the AlsonicEG is available in a portable version called the AlsonicPLEG which includes clamp on temperature sensors that make it suitable for site surveys, or applications where a fixed system is not necessary.
Smartmeasurement’s AlsonicEG offers a clamp-on ultrasonic flow meter designed specifically for the unique and challenging needs of the HVAC industry. The accuracy, wide turndown, bi-directional measurement capability, and the high level of sensitivity provided by the AlsonicEG help to optimize the energy efficiency of most HVAC applications while introducing no pressure drop and avoiding the performance and readability problems that negatively impact the performance of older-technology mechanical thermal energy flowmeters. The AlsonicEG‘s analog input capability allows for calculation of cooling load (kW/ton), coefficient of performance (COP) and energy efficiency ratio (EER). It also serves as a high-precision thermal energy flow meter with 1000 Ohm platinum RTD clamp-on or insertion-type sensors combined with four-wire temperature cables.
Advantages:
Very low installation costs – transducers clamp-on to the pipe
Capable of measure flows in very large pipes
Can be used in portable applications
Disadvantages:
Limited amount of particles or bubbles (1-2%)
Accuracies of 1-2%; lower then electromagnetic energy meters
Temperature range of -22~+230 °F (-30 ~ +110˚C); lower than electromagnetic energy meters
Have questions about our Energy Flow Meters? Contact the experts at SmartMeasurement today!
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