The installation of meters to account for the expenditure of various utilities is a legitimate desire of people to pay exclusively for the actually consumed kilowatts, liters , degrees. One of these meters is heating meters. How do they work and whether heating meters are profitable at all? This is in our article.
How does the heating meter work?
A modern heating meter is a complex device that reads not only the volume of hot liquid, but also the temperature difference in the coolant coming and leaving you, that is, in the battery. And it is on this basis that the principle of thermal energy is based.
In the meter body there is an impeller that reads the volume of water, as well as measuring and computing electronics. From the main device goes two wires with sensors that take readings from the coolant at the entrance and exit from the room. And on the basis of these indicators, the heat energy consumption is calculated.
Is it advantageous to have an individual heating meter?
The profitability of the heating meter should be judged from the device of the heating system. Small private, as well as small apartment houses usually have a horizontal system. In this case, it will be sufficient to install one meter at the entrance to the housing. The payback of the device in this case occurs in a couple of years.
It is quite another thing with apartment buildings with a stand-by heating system. In this case, you have to install the devices on each battery separately. Sometimes their number reaches 5 or more, which, undoubtedly, translates into a considerable amount.
Thus, heat meters for heating for a separate apartment, installed with a significant amount of money, pay for itself for years, and even for decades. And if you recall that the average life of each meter is 12 years, after which it will be necessary to replace it, then there is no benefit in this.
More justified is the installation of a single heating meter for the whole apartment building. To do this, it is necessary to obtain the consent of all tenants and collect from all the money for the installation of equipment. By the way, in new apartment buildings with a stand-by heating system, such meters are installed during the construction phase. But in old houses you will need to install yourself.
Calculation of the same expense is based on the area of each apartment. And even taking into account that the meter will consider the heating of staircases, attics and cellars, such a calculation of heat consumption will be beneficial for all tenants of the house.
Differences between house and apartment heat meters
The common metering devices are installed directly by the management company. Indications from them are also read by an authorized person. The calculation is as follows: all heat expended for a certain period is divided by the total area of all apartments in the house and then multiplied by the area of each individual apartment. This is the amount you will see in the receipt.
As a result, you will not pay for your heat consumption, but for the average for the house, taking into account the area of your apartment. And in order to pay only for their heat consumption, you need to install a home meter.
Modern houses are designed with a horizontal heating system, so that tenants move into already equipped apartment meters. In the old houses with a vertical riser system, we have to put heat spreaders on each radiator . These devices have a number of drawbacks: a large error and the inability to reduce the meter reading by using less heat.
If one of the tenants of the apartment building declares its desire to install an individual meter, it will not be able to do so. Apply for the transfer of the house to the individual heat accounting only the management company or owners of at least 50% of the apartments in the form of a collective application is entitled.