The water meter is used to measure water consumption in a household, residence, business, or community. It is typically installed at the connection point of the water supply to the local network. As such, this equipment must be protected by dedicated accessories.
The water meter is designed to:
- evaluate the volume of water consumed by a given installation (private homes, collective buildings, professional establishments, SMEs, ERP, industrial sites, etc.);
- be installed upstream of the building's or industrial site's water supply;
- allow for billing the amount of water used by the consumer.
This type of equipment comes in several versions, the meters:
- caloric meters, calculating the volume of water consumed by taking into account the water flow and the temperature difference between the network's inlet and outlet;
- velocity meters (or turbine meters), with either single-jet or multi-jet, evaluating the flow rate based on the rotations made by an integrated turbine and improving measurement accuracy, even for low water flow rates;
- volumetric meters, measuring the flow through the movements made by the instrument's hollow cylinder to allow the passage of water. This system allows direct knowledge of the amount of water entering the pipes.
Unlike electrical panels, the technical characteristics of water meters vary according to the temperature of the fluid circulating in the pipes. Manufacturers, therefore, draw up a table indicating the equipment's reactions with cold water (40 °C, for example) and hot water (often 100 or 110 °C). In all cases, this measuring device is characterized by its:
- nominal diameter (DN), indicating the internal diameter of the piping (expressed in mm);
- maximum flow rate (expressed in m³/h);
- permanent flow rate;
- transitional flow rate;
- minimum flow rate;
- starting flow rate;
- reading scale (in liters), determining its level of precision.
Subject to state control, this measuring instrument is the responsibility of the user. Therefore, it is important to protect it against fraud, weather conditions, vandalism, or any other external factor. It can be equipped with:
- a tamper-proof ring;
- insulation, to protect it from extreme weather conditions;
- a special radio transmitter, providing additional security for remote readings.
To find a water meter and suitable accessories, it is essential to anticipate the problems to which the equipment will be exposed (vandalism, weather conditions, humidity, runoff water, etc.). The pressure and quality of the water in the region must also be considered.
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