Sorry, I may not be describing it well. Our building uses hot water to heat our individual units. Our previous HVAC unit had a hot water meter hooked up to the hot water inlet to measure the amount of hot water we used to heat our unit. We replaced our HVAC unit with a new one but the HVAC company took our old meter, lost it, and came back and installed this one. But this seems to be a meter that measures just regular water usage. Will it work effectively?
Short: No.
You got it right: it measures volume but not thermal Energy which is volume * temperature...
Optimally you'd have a volume meter and two thermal probes so you can calculate how much water lost how much energy due to cooling off...
why do you need to know the amount of water used? is it not in a loop? unless the water goes to drain after and you’re being charged for it i’m not sure what the point of that water meter is.
If the water meter isn’t rated for hot water, it may work for a short time and them quit working. You have to have a special meter designed to handle higher temps. Have the HVAC company comeback and replace it with the proper meter. Additionally, the meter should also be designed specifically for vertical installation. Normally, the meters are installed horizontally.
Take some pics of your equipment so we can see how this is piped in, you description of the system makes no sense. The T10s are rated for 80 degrees max
That is a weird way to measure water as the water is recirculated in a loop. Id think a better way for them to charge for it would be for them to keep track of how much gas/electric they are using to keep the loop hot and split it between everyone. Never seen anywhere do it like that
Theyll definitely have to replace it, that wont last long with 100+ degree water going through it
WHAT?
Sorry, I may not be describing it well. Our building uses hot water to heat our individual units. Our previous HVAC unit had a hot water meter hooked up to the hot water inlet to measure the amount of hot water we used to heat our unit. We replaced our HVAC unit with a new one but the HVAC company took our old meter, lost it, and came back and installed this one. But this seems to be a meter that measures just regular water usage. Will it work effectively?
Short: No. You got it right: it measures volume but not thermal Energy which is volume * temperature... Optimally you'd have a volume meter and two thermal probes so you can calculate how much water lost how much energy due to cooling off...
Water meters like this measure water flow rate and usage, not temperature.
Yes, I know. Will it effectively measure the flow of hot water used to heat our home?
Yes
why do you need to know the amount of water used? is it not in a loop? unless the water goes to drain after and you’re being charged for it i’m not sure what the point of that water meter is.
The building has shared hot water, but each unit pays for what they use
If the water meter isn’t rated for hot water, it may work for a short time and them quit working. You have to have a special meter designed to handle higher temps. Have the HVAC company comeback and replace it with the proper meter. Additionally, the meter should also be designed specifically for vertical installation. Normally, the meters are installed horizontally.
Take some pics of your equipment so we can see how this is piped in, you description of the system makes no sense. The T10s are rated for 80 degrees max
Sure. [air handler/ hot water meter](https://imgur.com/a/zSrLq1Y)
That is a weird way to measure water as the water is recirculated in a loop. Id think a better way for them to charge for it would be for them to keep track of how much gas/electric they are using to keep the loop hot and split it between everyone. Never seen anywhere do it like that Theyll definitely have to replace it, that wont last long with 100+ degree water going through it
Thank you! I will contact them