ENER·G Switch2 uses meters and equipment from Europe’s leading meter manufacturers and benefit from supply agreements that allow for the security of ongoing support and maintenance for our clients.

Energy meters measure both volume flow rates and flow and return temperatures, integrating this information to provide a reading of true energy usage. They can be used to measure heating or cooling systems.

Energy meters are divided into three main groups:

1. Turbine – an impeller based flow meter with moving parts in the water. On larger sizes, 50mm and above, 5 nominal diameters of straight length of pipe are required before and after, to reduce turbulence through the meter. Pulsed outputs are available. Strainers are recommended to protect the impeller from particle damage.
2. Electro-magnetic – are non-mechanical meters, based on Faraday’s law of induction.
3. Ultrasonic –are non-mechanical meters using the time of flight principal.

All the above meters will form the flow measurement element of an energy meter.

Meters are then sub-dived into temperature ranges, all are available with pulse and optional 4-20mA outputs.

Impeller/turbine meters are widely used and are of equal accuracy to most other types of meters. Turbine meters can suffer from dirt/deposits in the system water and gradual loss of accuracy due to wear on moving parts. These meters often use the same temperature sensors and integrators or energy processors as do the solid state meters. It is recommended that the flow unit be recalibrated after a period of 5 years operation.

Solid state meters (generally either electronic or ultrasonic) have no moving parts and are therefore less susceptible to dirt in the water than are other types of meters. They are highly accurate even at a very low flow rate, require little maintenance and accuracy can be maintained in line with current UK and European standards.

For more information on energy meters please contact ENER·G Switch2 on 0871 423 42 42 or e-mail: sales@switch2.com