Ultrasonic Flow Meters

Energy
Monitoring with
Ultrasonic Flow
Meters

Presented by
Brent Baird

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

Presentation Outline:

Introduction
Why do you need energy monitoring metering?
What is Hydronic System Energy Metering?
Why use Submetering?
Types of Flow / Energy Meter Technologies
Typical applications
Economics

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

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Lets look at a few examples

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

Office Building A

$94,658

Office Building B

$47,905

Annual Energy Savings =

$46,753

Nearly 50%!

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

How is this possible?

Each building requires 470 tons of cooling; accomplished by way of:
(2) air-cooled helical-rotary chillers piped in parallel
(1) Pump per Chiller
System Flow

Pumping
Energy
Consumed
Monthly

Annual
Operating
Costs

Office Building
A

Constant Primary,
Constant Secondary

52,588 kWh

$94,658

Office Building
B

Variable Primary,
Variable, Secondary
(VPF)

26,614 kWh

$47,905

*assuming $0.15 per kWh

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

How do you determine the efficiencies

of your current system?
Discover Process
Use a reference meter to establish
a baseline and map out your sources:
-Hot and Chilled water
-Temperature (Differential) BTU

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

What is Hydronic System Energy Metering?
A hydronic energy meter, also referred to as a BTU meter or heat
meter, measures heat energy generated by a source or transferred
to a load depending on heating or cooling demands.
Energy Measurement unit is called Btu (British thermal unit)
Btu = The amount of heat energy it takes to raise the
temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit,
at sea level.

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How it works:

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Key Issue(s):
-Too many application assumptions.
-Installations not per specifications.
-Poor or inaccurate data collection.

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

Building / Campus Mapping:

Main Building
A

Annex Building
B

Annex Building
C

In calculating energy use, each building

is unique.
Address temperature loss or gain when
transferring CHWS, CHWR.
Meter all flows and temperatures, you
cant afford not too

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

For chilled water applications, where the sensor supplies only

volume information to a Building Automation System (BAS), each
percentage error the flow meter is off will have a direct impact on
the Btu calculation.
Flow meter technologies come with wide accuracy statements.
For instance, if one flow sensor is advertised with accuracies of
1% of Reading while another is 1% Full Scale, the energy
calculation can be off by 4% when flows are run at 25% of full
range.

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

On an 8 Chilled Water line; a 1% of Reading Ultrasonic and a 1% FS
Impeller are installed. Both have max working flow rates of 0-4000
GPM with an application design flow of 1000 GPM.
The ultrasonic meter will offer readings of 990-1010 GPM in order to
meet its advertised +/-1% of readings.
The impeller meter will offer readings of 960-1040 GPM in order to
satisfy its +/-1% of Full Scale readings.
Assuming a delta-T of 15F, the designed flow of 1000 GPM, and a
water constant of 499: Q(Btu/hr) = (GPM)(499)(delta-T)
True Energy Value = 7485 MBtu/Hr
Ultrasonic = 7410 7560 MBtu/Hr, or +/- 1%
Impeller = 7186 7784 MBtu/Hr, or +/- 4%

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

For chilled water applications, temperature sensor accuracy relative to

each other becomes significant since the temperature differences can
be small (<10 F).
For instance, if one sensor reads 1 F high while the other is 1 F low,
the energy calculation can be off by 20%.
A self-contained Btu meter is recommended as opposed to using
separate flow and temperature sensors because the accuracy is
generally better (matched sensors) and data collection is simpler,
particularly if energy is being metered for revenue purposes.

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

When selecting technology, you should consider:
Pipe considerations Include pipe size and material, layout, and straight pipe runs available for
flow sensor installation.
Flow rate Flow sensors must be sized to accommodate any balancing configuration or valve
position.
System temperature Flow and temperature sensors are designed especially for chilled or hot
water systems. Example: thermistors are fine for chilled water, but RTDs are a better selection
for hot water systems.
Accuracy Accuracy and repeatability help determine how precise your energy measurements
will be. Some applications leverage tighter accuracy and repeatability tolerances to maintain
tighter controls on hydronic system performance.
Service considerations For new installations, direct insertion of sensors is usually possible.
However, when retro-fitting a system, often pipes cannot be drained requiring a wet tap.
Optional display Depending on owner requirements, local displays of flow, temperature,
energy rate, and/or energy totals may be required.
Optional connectivity Data logging and Building Automation System (BAS) networks, in
addition to simple pulse and analog signals, include many different network protocols

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

Energy Management is Key
Optimizing usage/minimizing operating costs
Energy distribution
Measuring consumption
System monitoring
Cost allocation
Energy sub-metering
Measurement and Verification is an essential part
of every energy efficiency facility program
Federal and state agencies encourage investment
in energy-saving technology

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

Submetering - involves the installation of equipment to measure,

monitor, bill or control your process of your water, sewer, gas and electric
use. Because submetering raises facility operation awareness, users work
harder to conserve, thereby reducing overall consumption dramatically.
Discovery-(Portable) Metering Insertion meters can be very time
consuming and expensive. Clamp-on survey meters are more practical.
Ideal for spot check or extended study. Justification to add submetering or
retrofit your system.

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Ultrasonic Flow Meters

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

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THE SOUND'S TIME OF FLIGHT IS

ACCURATELY MEASURED IN BOTH
DIRECTIONS AND THE DIFFERENCE IN TIME
OF FLIGHT CALCULATED.

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

Select your meter technology

Invasive or Non-invasive

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

Impeller Meter

Basic principles
Mechanical Impeller spins with flow

Key advantages
Easy to install
Hot tap installation
Economical Price

Applications
Clean cold or hot fluids, pipes must
be full
Installation cost and service can be
very costly

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

Magnetic Meter

Basic principles
Uses an electromagnetic field

Key advantages
No moving parts
No pressure drop
Accurate with reduced pipe runs

Applications
Water and other conductive fluids
Installation cost and relatively
maintenance cost.

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

Clamp-on, Fixed

Basic principles
Uses ultrasound waves
to measure flow

Key advantages
Non-invasive
No need to shut
down system
Economical Price

Applications
Relatively clean cold or hot fluids,
pipes must be full
No maintenance costs

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

Clamp-on, Portable

Basic principles
Uses ultrasound waves
to measure flow

Key advantages
Non-invasive
No need to shut
down system
Rental & Purchase

Applications
Relatively clean cold or hot fluids,
pipes must be full
No maintenance costs

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APPLICATIONS:
* Water Monitoring
* Energy Management
* HVAC
* Test & Balance
* Chillers
* Cooling Towers
* Boilers
* And More..

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Using Portable Ultrasonic Meters

Discover process.
Spot check flows
Water usage study
Energy usage study
Balancing Hydronic
system
Economics

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Using Dedicated Ultrasonic Meters

Energy monitoring & control
by monitoring BTU
Flow and temperature
Domestic hot & cold water
Air conditioning / Heater
Communications
- 4/20mA
- Modbus
- Ethernet
- BACnet MSTP
- BACnet/IP
- Modbus TCP/IP..
Economics

Ultrasonic Flow Meters

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Summary:

We all live in a bubble and need to control our environment

Energy monitoring can enhance your facilities efficiencies
A discovery process is necessary to establish a baseline
Install submetering correctly for accurate continual data collection
and operations of your facility.
Define communications for your submetering

Submeter / Flow Meter Budget economics

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

Brent Baird
CEO / Application Engr / Technical Speaker
Instruments Direct
Ph 1(888)722-5543
bbaird@instrumentsdirect.com

CRS-401
(2-26)

CRS-402
(28-100)

UTXDR-408
(0.5-2)