How-Does-an-Ultrasonic-Flow-Meter-Work

Ultrasonic meters vs. Electromagnetic meters

Ultrasonic MeterElectromagnetic Meter
Ultrasonic meters measure the flow rates without using moving parts. Ultrasonic meters come in two variants:
1. Transit time flow meters: measure the time it takes for an ultrasonic signal to pass from one transmitter to another. 2. Doppler flow meters depend on suspended bubbles and particles in the water to reflect the ultrasonic signal because this provides a shift in the frequency.
In an electromagnetic (mag) meter, a magnetic field is applied at a 90° to the direction of the water flow. When water passes through the field, the meter generates a voltage that matches the velocity of the water. As the meter’s in-side diameter is known, the flow rate can then be calculated. This technology requires that the water measured is conductive otherwise the meter won’t be able to correctly calculate the flow-rate.

Operations

Chalk and other particles

Static meters have no moving parts that can be affected by chalk and other particles. However, there is a risk of calcareous deposits that can change the size of the meter’s inner diameter and change the velocity of the water passing the meter. Over time, this will decrease accuracy. Also, mag meters are fairly sensitive to mineral deposits on the pick-up electrodes as the minerals can cause local potential differences resulting in an apparent flow rate that does not reflect the actual flow velocity. The characteristic of the water determines how big a risk this is. More and more meters are made of a composite material that minimizes deposits in the meter considerably because of its smooth surface.

Noise

Acoustic noise is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a challenge for ultrasonic meters. Ultrasonic meters use the frequency of 1 MHz, which is not even close to the frequency for acoustic noise. When mag meters measure very small flows it is done on the basis of very little voltage. When you measure very little voltage, you will be more vulnerable to electric noise. The design of the mag meter must, therefore, take this into account. For bigger flows, you have higher voltage which reduces the risk of being affected by electric noise. As mag meters use magnetism to perform the measurement it can, by its very nature, be affected by magnetism, which necessitates an alarm for magnetic tampering. 

False readings

In general, the lower the start flow you choose for your meter, the higher the risk you face of the meter counting when no average flow is present. This applies to both mag and ultrasonic meters. It depends on how you handle the data i.e. which flows you measure. Meters with a lower start flow have a higher risk of catching zero flow measurements due to noise or maybe by boosting the negative flow they have when changing the magnetic field in the meter. Residential mag meters have been known to count before installation has been completed as a result of picking up electronic noise. The same thing can happen if the meter experiences pulsed flow synchronized with the sampling. For this reason, a cut-off flow is usually introduced, below which the flow measurement is truncated. The challenge when manufacturing quality flow meters is to continuously improve the signal-to-noise ratio thereby lowering the cut off flow rate


Accuracy

Sampling rate
Both ultrasonic and mag meters are capable of very high accuracy. One of the factors that determine the level of accuracy is the sample rate, which all smart meters use. The measurement is a snapshot of the current flow. Like any type of digital sampling, this will integrate the measurements over time, leading to the calculation of the final volume. What you wish to achieve is an error curve as close to reality as possible in the measuring points that are important to you.  

Flow corrections
The large dynamic range combined with the nature of the meter technology causes both ultrasonic and mag meters to be sensitive to variations in the fluid low-velocity profile across the pipe. As a result, these types of meters are somewhat nonlinear, especially at low flow rates, which necessitates the use of flow corrections. For small dimensions, ultrasonic meters only measure the middle part of the flow, which is where the velocity is the highest. It is, therefore, necessary to correct for the part of the flow that is not covered. For larger dimensions, more reflectors are used to cover all of the flow. Regardless of the dimension, mag meters need a compatible magnetic field. This is only possible in theory, and therefore a correction is required because of the non-compatible magnetic field. 

analog vs digital meter

What is a smart meter, and how does it work?

What is a smart meter, and how does it work?

A smart meter provides the objective tracking of utility energy consumption that occurs on the system or outlet it is attached to. For example, a smart meter connected to a natural gas line tracks the number of therms consumed by the facility. The “smart” feature of the meter lets it control the flow of the resource being used, such as natural gas, water or electricity. The smart aspect also allows the meter to be controlled remotely.

Why are smart meters becoming popular?

Smart metering is a way for businesses to keep track of how much energy they’re using so they can adjust their usage if necessary. In addition to measuring usage, smart meters record a variety of data points on consumption, including when a resource is being used, how much is being used at a time and where it’s being directed. Through an internet or wireless connection, the data is relayed to a console, where you can see a breakdown of the data.

Many electric, gas, water and other utility companies have embraced smart metering as an efficient method of tracking usage across their customer bases to better determine costs and infrastructure needs. Smart metering can give both utilities and their customers better ideas of how usage affects their costs and help them determine new strategies to save money.

Though smart metering is relatively new, there are already many applications for the technology. The internet of things (IoT) field has taken advantage of smart metering to expand a network of interconnected devices producing a massive amount of data.

Because smart metering is a newer way to track energy usage, in many markets it’s an optional installation for businesses from their utility providers. Although utilities may charge for the installation, the extra cost may be worth it for businesses because it allows them to adjust their usage to save on energy costs.

Can you refuse to have a smart meter installed?

Whether you can refuse a smart meter depends on who owns the facility and what system is being controlled. In the case of municipal devices, such as natural gas outlets or electricity connections, many jurisdictions have passed laws and regulations to require smart meter installations and use.

In other jurisdictions, it’s up to the owner. If a resident or business owner is leasing the property, they may not have a choice of whether a smart meter is installed. 

How can smart metering help businesses?

The direct benefit of smart metering is the precise knowledge of your business’s energy and other utility usage. Most smart meters tie directly into an interface that gives you an exact readout of your usage, breaking it down by the time of day, day of the week and month. Having this information at your fingertips can help you make better decisions about your usage and keep up-to-date records of your resource usage.

Getting a better idea of how much you’re consuming at any given time can inspire you to launch initiatives to reduce consumption. Some interfaces correlate usage with a monetary measurement, like a rating of watts per hour, allowing you to see how much electricity is costing you by the minute. 

Neil Maldeis, engineering leader with HVAC system maker Trane, described a project with an Illinois school district to set up an interactive smart metering interface for students to monitor their own school’s energy consumption.

“The upgrades implemented by the district helped increase energy efficiency, provide comfort to enhance learning conditions and improve environmental literacy,” Maldeis said. “As a result, energy and maintenance costs have been reduced, nearly 20 hours of weekly staff labor have been eliminated and the district has qualified for nearly $64,000 in rebates. District officials expect to save $500,000 over the course of the project, which was one of their strategic plan objectives.”

What are the risks of smart meters?

Because smart meters operate on connected networks, they present some cybersecurity risks: Theoretically, anyone who knows how to hack the device could take control of it. Several real hackers have proved that this is possible whenever there is an open public outlet, such as an IoT device utilizing the internet. Closed signal channels are much harder to get into without unauthorized access, but it is still possible.

The future of smart metering

Smart metering is improved by new and better connectivity innovations, especially IoT. With meters tied to the mechanisms that control the resources they’re measuring, we can turn some of our decisions over to automation backed by machine learning. An IBM blog suggests that a smart meter tied to a thermostat can help it determine times to change the heat based on fluctuating energy costs. Smart meters can be applied to numerous devices and machinery, allowing businesses to manage their power usage per machine.

Another potential application is for devices that use up consumable resources that need to be refilled. Smart meters that detect that a resource is about to run out can prompt an IoT device to automatically order a refill.

For utility companies, the more smart meters they have connected to their infrastructure, the more data on customer usage they can acquire to run their grid more efficiently. They can detect irregularities live in sections and go onsite to make preventive repairs on certain areas before an outage occurs.

SparkENergy_SmartMeter

Basic Knowledge About Smart Meter

What Are Smart Meters?

A smart meter is an electric, water or gas meter that wirelessly collects and delivers usage information to the utility and the energy customer. Some smart meters read data every hour and provide updates once a day while others are able to gather data in real-time and on-demand.

Two-Way Versus One-Way Smart Meters

The first smart meters were one-way meaning that they just sent information from the meter to the utility company. However, since 2013 two-way smart meters have become more prevalent. A two-way smart meter allows utilities and the customer to access the data.

Advanced (Smart) Metering Infrastructure

Smart meters are a part of the advanced (smart) metering infrastructure (AMI) that’s focused on modernizing the grid so that service is stabilized and more efficient. Not surprisingly, every states with the most smart meters have put emphasis on improving and stabilizing the electric grid.

In fact, it’s the electric, water and gas utilities that decide to install smart meters. That means the customer doesn’t have a say in the type of smart meter that’s installed although customers can opt out of having a smart meter at their property. Another implementation consideration is that each state and region has its own regulations for installation and usage.

Smart Meter Data

The most obvious difference between traditional meters and smart meters is that the utility company no longer needs to send someone out to collect usage data. The data is sent hourly or daily to the utility company, which significantly simplifies the billing process. It also means that there’s no human error in estimating a customer’s usage.

What data is the smart meter generating?

Like the old meters, electric smart meters are measuring the number of kilowatt-hours (kWh) used. A kWh is 1,000 watts of electricity used in one hour. Smart gas meters measure flow in cubic feet.

There are two ways to get data from a smart meter. The most convenient method is to log onto your account online. If you have a smart meter your provider should feed that data directly to your account so it’s readily available. You can also look up data the old-school way by checking out the meter itself. The kilowatt usage data is displayed on the digital monitor and gas usage is displayed on dials.

How Utility Companies Benefit From Using Smart Meters

The reason smart meters are becoming the norm is because there’s a lot of upsides for the utilities that install them. Here are a few ways that smart meters help utility companies improve energy distribution:

  • Better monitoring of the electric system
  • More balanced electric loads for reduced risk of blackouts
  • Ability to connect with customers and reduce energy use during peaks
  • Improved allocation of energy, which reduces the need for new power plants
  • Less manpower needed to analyze usage and bill customers
  • Faster identification of when and where outages occur

Ultimately, customers can also benefit from the points above as well. And reduced cost for the utility companies can translate into lower rates for everyone.

How Customers Save Energy With a Smart Meter

Smart meters make day-to-day operations easier for the utility company, but customers can also benefit as well. The major advantage is the potential for energy savings. You can reduce usage by using the smart meter data to analyze behaviors and trends. Some of the things you can analyze include:

  • When you are using the most energy
  • If your usage is during peak hours (when energy may be more expensive)
  • How you are using energy
  • Whether a dynamic pricing plan will cost less

All of this information helps gas and electric customers make better choices and save more money. And don’t worry about the accuracy of the information. Smart meters have been thoroughly tested to ensure that the readings are highly accurate.

analog vs digital meter

Analog vs. Digital Smart Electric Meters

Apparently, 80% of us tend to buy digital weighing scale compared to analog because of its accuracy and we find it more easier to read the number in digital display rather in analog display. In this article we will discuss about Analog vs. Digital Smart Electric Meters;

Analog Meters

Analog electric meters are useful for monitoring electricity use on a periodic basis and for checking the accuracy of electric bills from month to month. Analog meters have multiple spinning dials, which are best read by qualified electricity company representatives.

These types of meters can be confusing for average consumers to read because the hands on the five dials alternate directions: The first hand revolves in a clockwise direction, the second counterclockwise, the third clockwise and so on. Analog meters have one purpose: To tell the consumer or meter reader how much electricity has been used since the last reading.

Smart Meters

Digital or “smart meters” record daily electricity use and share information about consumption between users and electricity suppliers over wireless digital radio frequency networks.

A home energy management system with compatible, interactive devices connected to an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) has potential energy management benefits. For example, smart meters may one day enable consumers to program electricity use for nonpeak hours when power is available at a lower cost. This interactive capability also could allow utility companies to manage energy use and adjust loads during periods when there is a danger of a potential system overload, such as during periods of extremely hot or cold weather.

Consumer Concerns

Some individuals are concerned about potential problems with the smart meters connected to AMI. Health activists, consumer watchdogs, and privacy advocates have raised three main areas of concerns:

  1. Consumer watchdogs question the accuracy of smart meters and the likelihood of billing errors.
  2. Health advocates are concerned about potential risks related to the effects of low-level radiation, which is produced by the smart grid’s wireless radio frequency network. This issue is similar to the controversy regarding cancer and the use of cell phones.
  3. Privacy advocates are worried that information gathered by smart meters and other smart grid devices will be misused.

Smart Meter Accuracy 

Customers sometimes file complaints about inaccurate smart meters when they receive higher-than-usual electricity bills. Though a smart meter may be faulty, other variables could be to blame. Billing cycle changes, extreme weather conditions, higher consumption, faulty home appliances or heating and air conditioning systems can result in high electricity bills. Dynamic energy pricing also can cause fluctuations in electricity consumption, notes a report by the Electric Power Research Institute.

The two highest-profile cases involving customer complaints about inaccurate meters were in California and Texas. When customers complained of higher bills after smart meters were installed in parts of those states, authorities ordered independent audits of the meters. The complaints coincided with a hot summer in California and a cold winter in Texas, conditions which may have contributed to the perception of inaccuracies.

testing blog

NB-IoT vs. LoRa: It’s an Ecosystem, Not a Race

As the number of connected devices rises, new technology standards have developed to handle the growing IoT space. While smartphones use cellular networks for their data, many IoT devices (for example, a smart water meter) only need to transfer small amounts of data. Relying totally on cellular or satellite networks would be expensive and use too much battery power for most devices. Similarly, WiFi and Bluetooth networks are not always a good or cost-effective solution. Most IoT devices don’t need to be in constant contact with a cellular network, so a new type of network was needed. Enter the LPWAN.

What are optimal uses for each technology?

Depending on the needs of an application, one technology may be more suitable than another. For most applications, the biggest considerations are latency, battery life, coverage, and cost. In this capacity, NB-IoT and LoRa serve different purposes.

Smart metering:

Most meters process only modest amounts of data each day, so LoRa is best for most applications, assuming that the cost of installing a gateway is not prohibitive. NB-IoT is a good choice for applications that need more frequent communication or high data throughput.

Read more at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/nb-iot-vs-lora-its-ecosystem-race-art-reed/