What is a BTU Meter?
BTU meters are flow meters with temperature sensors added to measure the energy consumption of any liquid heating or cooling system. BTU meters are also known as energy meters, heat meters. Commonly used are electromagnetic energy meters and ultrasonic energy meters. It is widely used in online metering of central air-conditioning cooling and heating energy metering and heating network. It can also be used to measure the performance of energy conservation measures or the loss of system efficiency that affects revenue.
What is BTU?
BTU (British Thermal Unit). 1BTU is approximately equal to 252.1644 calories (calorie) = 0.293 watt-hour (watt-hour) = 1.055 kilojoules (killojoule)
1 BTU is the amount of heat required to heat 1 pound of pure water from 59 degrees Fahrenheit to 60 degrees Fahrenheit at an atmospheric pressure of 14.696 pounds per square inch.
Btu is British Thermal Unit (British Thermal Unit) and Btu/h is “British Thermal Unit per hour”. Since 1(British Thermal Unit) = 1055.056(Joule), and 1 Watt = 1 Joule/Sec.
So 1 (Btu per second) = 1055.056 (Watts), converting seconds to hours is: 1 BTU per hour = 1055.056/3600 = 0.293071 (Watts).
Therefore, the power of an air conditioner with a (BTU/H) of 10000 is 10000*0.293 = 2.93 (kW).
BTU Meter Working Principle
When the water flows through the system, according to the flow rate given by the flow sensor and the temperature signal of the supply and return water given by the paired temperature sensor, as well as the time that the water flows. Calculate and display the heat energy released or absorbed by the system through the calculator.
Its basic formula is as follows:
In the formula:
Q—the heat released or absorbed by the system, J;
qm flow through heat meter
The mass flow of water, kg/h;
qv is the volume flow of water passing through the heat meter, m5/h;
ρ Density of water passing through the heat meter, ks/m3;
△h—the difference in the enthalpy of water at the inlet and outlet temperatures of the heat exchange system, J/kg;
T a time, h.
From the working principle of the heat meter, it can be seen that the heat meter is mainly divided into three parts: the base meter, the temperature sensor and the totalizer.
The base meter refers to the meter that measures the flow and converts the flow information into electrical signals.
The temperature sensor refers to a sensor that measures the temperature of the supply and return water of the heat exchange system.
The totalizer is a device that integrates and displays heat according to the formula.
Video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keD50bX1mec
BTU Meter Types
The flow sensor is the most important part of the heat meter and the most sensitive component. The classification of the heat meter actually refers to the classification of the flow sensor. Flow sensors can be divided into three categories: mechanical, ultrasonic and electromagnetic according to their measurement principles.
BTU Meter for Chilled Water
In an era of ever-increasing energy costs. It is important to accurately measure and control energy consumption. Meet customer requirements by offering a wide range of highly advanced cooling metering instruments.
Chilled water energy meters, commonly referred to as BTU meters. Can be defined by measurement of heat/chilled water energy consumption.
The BTU meter consists of a flow measurement sensor, two temperature sensors, and a microprocessor-based energy calculator.
The flow sensor should be installed in the chilled water return line, and the chilled water flow direction should be installed in a vertical or horizontal position. Two temperature sensors, one sensor is installed on the oil return line. The second sensor is installed on the water supply line. The thermal energy transferred from the cooling water to the consumer over a specified period of time is proportional to the temperature difference between the flow and return flow and the amount of cooling water flowing through.
Sino-Inst offers two types of BTU meters, one with ultrasonic measurement technology (ultrasonic BTU meter) and the other with electromagnetic measurement technology (electromagnetic BTU meter).
BTU Meter Installation
The installation requirements for electromagnetic heat meters and ultrasonic heat meters vary.
Personally recommend the Clamp-On ultrasonic heat meter. Because the installation is the easiest.
Clamp-On ultrasonic sensors and external clip-on temperature sensors are available. Installation is simple. low cost.
About the installation of electromagnetic heat meter. You May refer to the following PDF.
Problems and Solutions in the Use of Heat Meters
- The problem of blockage is the fatal problem of the heat meter.
There are two main sources of impurities in water: one is the rust produced by the oxidation and corrosion of the heating system, and the other is the residual debris after the construction of the heating system.
The main solution is to install a filter before the household heat meter. When a mechanical heat meter is used as a building heat meter. There should be two levels of filtration before the entrance. The aperture of the primary filter should be 3mm. The secondary aperture should be 0.65~0.75mm.
If a mechanical heat meter is used indoors as a tool for household heat (fee) apportionment, a filter with a filter diameter of 0.65~0.75mm should be installed before the household heat meter.
- Whether it is a building meter or a household meter, the heat meter has a specific flow accuracy performance curve. When selecting a heat meter, the system flow should be calculated. Make the correct selection according to the flow performance requirements of the heat meter, and do not directly select the heat meter according to the caliber. When designing, the specifications of the heat meter are generally determined according to the nominal flow rate equal to 80% of the design flow rate. And analyze the minimum possible flow of the system. Make the minimum flow value greater than the boundary flow value of the heat meter.
- There are many points worth noting during the installation and use of the mechanical heat meter. For example, rotary-wing heat meters should be installed horizontally. The upstream of the mechanical heat meter should maintain a straight pipe section with a length of 5D~10D. Downstream should maintain a straight pipe length of 2D~8D. At present, the installation of ultrasonic heat meters does not require straight pipe sections to ensure measurement accuracy.
- The installation position of the flow sensor of the heat meter should meet the installation requirements of the meter. It should be installed on the return pipe. This will help reduce the ambient temperature where the instrument is located. Extend battery life and improve meter usage.
At one point it was suggested that heat meters installed on the water supply would prevent users from stealing water. In fact, only the water meter can not measure the amount of stolen water. You can’t recover much lost water. It also makes the working environment of the heat meter worse.
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Sino-Inst offers over 10 BTU Meter products. About 60% of these are ulrtasonic flow meters. 40% are magnetic meters.
A wide variety of BTU Meter options are available to you, such as free samples, paid samples.
Sino-Inst is a globally recognized supplier and manufacturer of BTU Meters, located in China.
The top supplying country is China (Mainland), which supply 100% of the BTU Meter respectively.
You can ensure product safety by selecting from certified suppliers, with ISO9001, ISO14001 certification.
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