Some of us might already be familiar with heat meters because we have them installed in our homes. Others may not , simply because heat meters are still being rolled out in large quantities every month. One of the main purposes of a heat meter is to attempt to reduce consumption of energy, regulate heating and save costs for users. In the following video you will see an example of a small heat meter that has been installed in the United Kingdom. Sustainability personnel have produced a well made introduction to heat metering in the following media presentation.
A heat meter is for Energy and Hot Water but there is something different about it. If this is not clear, then it might be a good idea to take a closer look at what data is required for it to calculate energy consumption . A wireless heat meter is part of a control system as well. Notice that a heat metering system will have a regulating valve that can be shut off when a resident no longer requires the heat. Heat Meter Data is what enables this system to work well. Residents who formerly had no proper control of current heat energy consumption because they were formerly controlling the heat switch and receiving a monthly bill which gave no information of current usage, can now save money on hot water bills because the heat metering control system will work for them and give them heat energy according to their actually requirements. Some places have also adopted a pre-payment method since they want the option to "pay as they use"
Energy consumption can also be measured using non invasive devices. These are often installed on the outside of pipes connected to heat exchangers and chiller systems to measure the BTU or kilowatt hour consumption. See BTU Flow Meter with datalogger.
The next video is also very useful to help us appreciate the need for control of heat and hot water in our homes. It has practical advice that is related to furnace and boiler maintenance as well as common sense safety tips. Some of us may not be aware that a furnace can do the same work as a boiler. It would seem that energy savings in relation to heat and hot water also depends on the types of heaters being used, their efficiency and how well they are maintained. Research into the boiler vs furnace might be interesting to certain of us who are wondering why there are different heating methods being used around the world. The professional suppliers of heating systems (normally sales and service companies) should be able to tell us what is the latest and greatest and make recommendations.