Types and principle of operation of heat meters for heating an apartment: pros and cons of all types and installation procedure

Accounting for the heat energy consumed by a separate apartment during the heating season allows you to pay less for the carried out insulation measures. Installing a heating meter at the entrance will not give real savings, since the costs are spread over everyone residents evenly, but in fact, different apartments consume different amounts of heat energy per 1 square meter meter.

Design and principle of operation

All heat meters structurally consist of three units: temperature meters of the coolant at the inlet and outlet from the heater, a heating agent flow metering unit and a display and processing unit information.

Temperature sensors and "information" blocks for different meters are more or less similar, but according to the type of coolant flow meter counters are divided into four types:

• mechanical (with an impeller, propeller or impeller);
• ultrasonic;
• vortex;
• electromagnetic.

The principle of operation of all types is the same: for a selected period of time, the amount of water that has passed through a measuring device, and the temperature difference between the inlet and outlet of the heater is measured.

The amount of heat used is determined by the formula - Q = C * m (t 2 -t 1), where Q is the amount of heat, C is the heat capacity of the water, t 2 and t 1 are the water temperature at the inlet and outlet, respectively).

Mechanical and ultrasonic views

This type of measuring equipment for heating is the simplest and cheapest. The principle of operation is as follows: a mechanical meter in the form of an impeller, screw or turbine rotates depending on the flow rate of the coolant. The number of revolutions is calculated and converted into cubic meters or liters. Then, using the formula, taking into account the data from the temperature sensors, the amount of used heat is determined.

The advantages are as follows: simplicity of device and installation, low cost of repair and low cost of a new heat meter for heating for an apartment of this type. But there are also disadvantages: there is no way to fix the instantaneous consumption, frequent failure of the mechanical part due to sensitivity to the quality of the coolant and the need to additionally install a cleaning filter before counter.

Ultrasonic type less sensitive to the quality of the coolantsince he has no direct contact with him. The ultrasonic emitter passes through the water flow and deflects slightly, the higher the flow velocity, the greater the deflection of the ultrasonic wave beam. The meter detects this deviation and converts it into the coolant flow rate.

The advantages of ultrasonic heat meters include their accuracy and the ability to measure instantaneous consumption. There is only one drawback, but a significant one - it is the high cost of buying a new device and maintaining an already installed one.

Vortex and electromagnetic types

These two types of measuring instruments are rarely used because of their characteristics - low accuracy of readings and high purchase price and the complexity of repair and verification work.

In vortex devices in specially made assemblies with an obstruction to the flow of liquid vortices arise. The higher the flow rate, the higher the rotation speed of the vortex flows, which is measured by the device. Another feature of the "vortex" type is the standard pipe size on which the measuring instrument is mounted. If you put it in an apartment, then you have to make an additional transition unit.

In electromagnetic meters the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction is used, which occurs when the coolant flows. Their disadvantage is the low accuracy of measurements and the ability to influence the readings by an external source of electromagnetic or magnetic fields.

Installing a heat meter

So that later there are no problems with the registration of the heat metering device and the calculation of payment for heating in fact, it is initially necessary to adhere to a certain order of actions and procedures.

Different regions may have their own small nuances and deviations from the requirements, but the basic procedure is as follows:

• the owner of the apartment applies to the company supplying heat to the house, with a statement about the desire to install an individual heat meter for the apartment;
• if there is no prohibition on the application, the consumer chooses a contractor for the direct installation of the meter;
• on the basis of the technical conditions, the contracting company develops a project, which is then approved by the relevant authorities of the heat supply organization;
• further - the purchase of a meter of the required design and model and its installation;
• a representative of the heat supplying organization checks and seals the measuring device, and also signs an agreement on its commissioning.

Only after all these measures have been carried out, it will be possible to pay for heating in accordance with the readings of the measuring device.