Heat Meter Research Articles

Research On Decrease Of Outside Air Heat Pump Passive Evaporators Ice-Cover

Two years (2009-2010) experience of the experimental use of alternative energy sources in technological processes of agriculture is analyzed. Water was heated by an outside air heat pump with passive evaporators, and used for new born piglets resting place floor heating. Experimental data were obtained by the reckoning consumption of electric energy for the operation of the heat pump’s compressor and electric heater, and by a heat meter registering the consumed heat energy. The obtained data show that the outside air heat pump with passive evaporators is working successfully during summer months, when the coefficient of performance (COP) of the heat pump exceeds 3.5. When the outside temperature decreases under +10˚C, the heat pump evaporators become covered with hoarfrost and ice. The value of the COP and produced amount of heat energy reduce, and the electric heater often switches on. During the experimental research one of the heat pump evaporators was supplied with a ventilator, air flow from which was washing the surface of the evaporator’s plates. So the satisfactory operation of the heat pump was provided till December 10, 2009 and November 25, 2010.

The analysis of flow characteristics in multi-channel heat meter based on fluid structure model

In this paper, a fluid structure interaction (FSI) model is used to study the internal flow field and the measurement performance of a multi-channel flow meter. The RNG k – ɛ turbulent model and the finite element model are used separately in the fluid domain and the structure domain to obtain the meter factor K and the deformation of the structure. The meter factor K of the flow meter is obtained through the FSI model at temperatures of 20°C, 50°C and 80°C. The calculated results show the thermo expansion of the structure can significantly influence the measurement performance of the flow meter. The meter factor of the flow meter is also measured experimentally, and the comparison between the experimental results and the calculated results shows the validity of the fluid-structure interaction model. In order to reduce the measurement error, the meter factor K should be modified as the water temperature changes.

Inter unit heat flows in a residence during district heating in a multistory residential building

The paper presents investigations of space heating metering in a residence in a multistory residential building. The entire building is heated by a district heating system (DHS). The residence may be heated by DHS and/or electrical energy. The analyzed residence may be either the non-disconnected or disconnected from DHS. The residence has a low heat demand compared to the average heat demand of all DHS consumers. Space heating is simulated by using software EnergyPlus during the 6-month heating season with a weather file of Kragujevac, Serbia. Specially, it is analyzed how the district heating metering is influenced by inter unit heat flows from the neighbor residences. Then, the notion of heat stealing (theft) is explained. For the residence, the heat consumption coefficient inside the entire DHS is introduced to direct the special attention to the low heating efficiency of all heat consumers inside the studied DHS. In addition, the primary fuel consumption, CO2 emissions, and heat costs are calculated and discussed.

Establishment and validation of a sustainable evaluation model for heat metering technology in China

Although China's heat metering technology has developed rapidly in recent years, the improvement demonstrates an unbalance in different provinces. It is of great significance to outlook application and sustainability of heat metering technology in various regions technically. Taking the sustainability of heat metering technology as research object, the author establishes a sustainable evaluation model in this paper. Factors in the evaluation model are assigned through a main questionnaire and actual application of typical projects. A pecking-order contrast method is adopted to determine weights of factors in the evaluation model, correspondingly sustainable development of heat metering in various locations is assessed. Sustainability scores in three regions (Northeast, Northwest and North China) are obtained via evaluation model. The model owns high accuracy compared with results of heat metering work assessment by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MOHURD). The heat metering in the three regions score 60, 62 and 75, respectively, implying that the sustainability in the northeast and northwest is unsatisfactory but in north is somehow better. It is suggested that envelope heat insulation should be increased in the northeast region, while policy support and heat metering technology ought to be enhanced in the northwest.

Testing and Analysis on Thermal Performance for Prefabricated Thermal Insulation Composite Wall Panel of an Office Building

The main objective of this study is to explore prefabricated thermal insulation composite wall’s thermal performance in the project. Using infrared thermal imager and multi-point heat meter takes a test on office building envelope. The test results showed that the composite wall temperature change delay of 3 hours 12 minutes, the temperature change attenuation of 2.5 °C; The composite board exterior wall surface temperature attenuation is larger and the thermal stability of the structure is perfect; thermal bridge is the main reason for reducing the average thermal resistance of the wall.

Study of errors in ultrasonic heat meter measurements caused by impurities of water based on ultrasonic attenuation

Impurity is one of the main factors that affect the measurement accuracy of an ultrasonic heat meter. To study the effects of different impurity species and concentrations on the accuracy of heat meters, flow tests were carried out for the suspending of calcium carbonate and yellow mud. By analyzing the attenuation characteristics of the ultrasound amplitude in different impurity concentrations and species, the influence of the impurities on the heat meter measurement accuracy is evaluated. In order to avoid the inaccuracy caused by the sediment of the reflective bottom surface, a vortex generator is put ahead of the reflective surface. According to the test, the calcium carbonate suspension with a mass concentration of 1%, which influences the heat meter accuracy severely, is used as the flow media. The influence of the vortex generator on the calcium carbonate suspension flow field in the heat meter body is studied with numerical simulations. The results of this paper provide some theoretical guide on improving the heat meter measurement accuracy when the water contains impurities.

The Typical Application of Building Energy Consumption Monitoring and Energy Management: A Case Study

Building energy consumption monitoring and management system plays a vital role in the advance of building energy conservation, because it offers abundant online real time data, which are mainly used to further analyze energy saving potential and put forward a feasibility methodology for implementation. In addition to its extreme importance in decreasing energy consumption and saving costs, the platform can also help to find the anomalies of the main equipment. In this paper, we first introduce the structure of the monitoring platform, and then put forward an error analysis principle to improve the precision of heat meters. A case study is given for a building in “hot summer and cold winter” area, including the installation of various measuring meters and data verification. Finally, the energy consumption data of the building from January to December in 2013 were analyzed.

Analysis on Issues of Control and Operation Regulation of the Variable Flow in Heat Metering System

Poor thermal comfort of indoor and low efficiency of heating system can always be found in the buildings with large energy consumption. This paper adopted a comparison method to carry on the energy consumption analysis of several control and operation regulation modes of heat metering heating system. A demonstration project in Tianjin was selected as an example to calculate the energy consumption of circulating water pumps of the secondary pipe network in different combinations of control and regulation, and carries on the comparative analysis. It is concluded that circulating water pumps will be the lowest energy consumption under the remote constant pressure control. And it points out the major problems existing in current, which is beneficial for scholars’ further study on heat metering system.

Economic and Technical Analysis of Several Heat Metering Modes: A Case Study from Beijing, China

Poor thermal comfort of indoor and low efficiency of heating system can always be found in the buildings with large energy consumption. This paper adopted a comparison method to carry on the energy consumption analysis of several control and operation regulation modes of heat metering heating system. A demonstration project in Tianjin was selected as an example to calculate the energy consumption of circulating water pumps of the secondary pipe network in different combinations of control and regulation, and carries on the comparative analysis. It is concluded that circulating water pumps will be the lowest energy consumption under the remote constant pressure control. And it points out the major problems existing in current, which is beneficial for scholars’ further study on heat metering system.

Experimental Thermal Performance Analysis of Building Components Containing Phase Change Material (PCM)

The article presents the results of experimental studies of partitions containing phase change materials. The main objective of the measurements was to determine the actual effectiveness of the used materials and their impact on energy storage capabilities through building partitions. The light partition component containing a finishing layer of organic material undergoing a phase change was the subject of research. The heat flux and temperature distribution on individual component layers were recorded while changing the temperature conditions of the surrounding air. The cycle of temperature changes has been chosen to model the probable conditions inside buildings located on Polish territory. The results made it possible to determine the actual effect of PCM applications in partitions on heat accumulation capacity increase and thermal conditions of the component. The article also addresses the issue of determining the parameters of material for which a very strong dependence of the specific heat and temperature exist. When used in construction materials, phase-variable thermal properties of the materials used must be accurately known, since the system efficiency depends on the thermal properties of materials. The article presents an attempt to determine the properties of the PCM as a function of temperature using the equipment consisting of heat meter, electronic sensors and thermocouples temperature.

Sustainable City Development: Implementation Practices in Riga

To develop potential of the cities in the field of energy efficiency improvements and use of renewables, there is a need for new and more ambitious goals in line with the actual situation. Growing concern of smart city development and urban resilience has become increasingly embedded in urban planning, national security and energy policy. One of the main city documents focused on actions and measures to be implemented in City is Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP), which is the key document in which the Covenant signatory outlines how it intends to reach its CO2 reduction target by 2020. Taking into account specifics of modern cities and future city development at Smart City level the existing SEAP should be enhanced. Nowadays it is necessary to bring existing standalone energy actions at cross sector level in order to ensure urban resilience. Currently there are 3414 cities across the Europe and eastern partners which already have developed SEAP. The paper draws attention to areas with high impact to smart city development. In terms of Smart Cities the most powerful actions are those which directly affect at least these three sectors - energy, ICT and transport. Paper provides some good practice examples from the city of Riga. The losses of the heat transmitted to consumers by JSC "Rigas Siltums" - main heat supplier of Riga have been decreased by 667 thous. MWh or 2.45 times in comparison to year 1996/1997. Following the completion of reconstruction of the boiler houses, construction of a biofuel fired water heating boiler, construction of the biofuel fired cogeneration plant, installation of flue gas condensers for biofuel fired boilers at the DHP the share of biofuel utilization within the fuel balance of the JSC „RĪGAS SILTUMS” will reach 20.4% in fiscal year 2013/2014. The total energy produced from renewable energy sources since 01.01.1996 until 8.04.2014 is 920463.107 MWh. The project “Heat meters automatic remote reading system” proved to be a successful and reliable solution for the control and accounting of consumed heat, as well as related tasks enabling “online communication” with 8000 individual heating units throughout the Riga city. Development and introduction of electric cars and filling station infrastructure in Riga was one more step on the way to the SMART CITY status. Despite a fairly long payback period electric cars are quite beneficial solution for some companies whose activities are related with vehicles’ high mileage within the city as LLC “Rigas Satiksme

Research on the Efficiency and Economic Impact of Energy-Saving Transformation of Residential Buildings in Different Climatic Regions of China

In China, the transformation of existing buildings is confronted with various problems in aspects ranging from technology to policy and even to economic efficiency, which restrains the pace of existing building transformation. Aiming at these conditions, a building model is established with simulation software in the research herein to deeply analyze the energy-saving effect of building envelope transformation in different climatic regions and its economic efficiency based on regional and national policies. The research results show that any single technology is difficult to completely satisfy the requirements of current energy efficiency standards, and technical measures should be taken according to different climatic regions. For the northern heating area, the building envelope transformation must be carried out simultaneously with the transformation of heat metering. Policy formulation and fund determination for the energy-saving transformation of existing buildings in China should be more flexible based on transformation effect and rely more on social and commercial forces rather than solely on the promotion of government.

Research of heat capacity of multicomponent carbon-aluminium composition materials

Despite the previously conducted specific thermal researches of one-and two-phase composite materials there are a need for integrated thermal researches for new multicomponent carbon-aluminum composites of different composition and content obtained by hot pressing. This article presents the results of experimental researches of the heat capacity of the samples of carbon-aluminum composite materials of tribotechnical purpose obtained using the comparative method of dynamic calorimeter with a heat meter and adiabatic membrane. The influence of both the component composition and content of the composites on heat capacity indicators is shown. A comparative analysis of the results with previously known heat capacity calculated indicators is conducted. It is shown that the values of maximum deviations between experimental and calculated values are less than 20%. The research results have a scientific and practical interest for the development of new units for dry friction engineering, aviation and space industry.

Heat accounting in historical buildings

The “individual” accounting of thermal energy in household applications (heating, cooling, hot water) is a very essential tool for increasing energy efficiency of buildings equipped by central plants. Furthermore, the availability of real time energy consumptions data, typical of smart metering, enables users to identify the causes of any waste of energy and consequently to adopt adequate strategies to improve energy efficiency.Modern devices for thermal energy measurement and accounting are rarely present in historical buildings, despite energy consumptions are not negligible. In fact, historical buildings exhibit architectural constraints and plant configurations that strongly discourage the use of direct heat meters, both on a technical and economic point of view.This paper primarily deals with an in-depth analysis of thermal energy measurement devices for historical building applications. Furthermore, the authors show the results of a specific metrological analysis that enables both a comparison among the different options and the evaluation of the main criticalities about thermal energy measurements in historical buildings. The authors estimated typical uncertainties in heat accounting systems ranging from about 4.4% (direct heat meters) to 21.6% (insertion time counter compensated with degree-days). Intermediate performance for uncertainty has been estimated for heat cost allocators (about 9.2%) and for not compensated insertion time counters (about 13.4%), respectively.

The Experimental Analysis on the Regularity of Heating Load in Buildings Using Heat Meters with On-Off Time and Area Method in Shijiazhuang Area

Based on the heating load experiment adopting on-off time and area measuring method of typical heat users located in different places of different buildings in Shijiazhuang, the heating loads of the heat users which are summarized as two typical heat using modes are studied in this paper and the heating loads in the whole winter heating season of the building is estimated. The results shows that with the user’s heat adopting ratio in these two modes increases, the corresponding heating load is lower, the heating load distribution curve gets smoothly in the whole heating period and the peak value of the system heating loads reduces. This regularity of heating load distribution is beneficial for enhancing the stability of heating system and the thermal efficiency of the heat source.

Research on the evaluation system for heat metering and existing residential building retrofits in northern regions of China for the 12th five-year period

On the basis of ERBR (existing residential building retrofit) work in the 11th five-year period, energy efficiency retrofits for old residential buildings have been further promoted in northern regions of China during the 12th five-year period. ERBR projects are capable of not only achieving energy conservation and emissions reductions but also providing warmer rooms for residents during cold winters. Therefore, this project should be continued in northern regions of China following a long-term management mode. With the aim of exploring methods and mechanisms for the evaluation of the retrofit effect, an evaluation method was established with the application of the multi-level expert evaluation method. The evaluation indexes cover the aspects of policy mechanisms, financing modes and technical measures. A rewards and punishment mechanism according to the evaluation system was also suggested. Such an evaluation system can be used as a valuable reference for future implementation of energy efficiency retrofit work.

The Study of Heat Transfer between Adjacent Units on Household Heat Metering

Introduces the concept of the heat metering and charging regulation coefficient, describes its’ calculation and the procedures of regulation, also summarizes the calculate formulas. and analyzes the effect of heat transfer between adjacent units on household heat metering, as well as the influence of different floor and different position in a building, different orientation, the area of window contrast to wall, cold wind infiltrating and the natural capacity of heat preservation of surrounding structure and so on. According to the Heating Company, Heating price is 0.14 yuan/kWh. Heat cost consists of two. One is basic cost,the other is changed cost. The proper temperature being on duty is probably 7°C when there is heat transfer between adjacent units. When nobody lives in the rooms, some cost must be paid. Also introduces the concept of the metering and charging regulation coefficient, describes its calculation and procedures of regulation.

Application of a novel method for validating the uncertainty estimation of a flow test facility

Abstract After a large heat meter flow test rig was overhauled, making a thorough characterization and re-validation of the associated uncertainty is necessary. Validating the uncertainty through interlaboratory comparisons takes years and is not always successful. Therefore, a method is proposed to validate the uncertainty estimation based on a flow meter Reynolds number similarity in between comparisons. The newly estimated uncertainty of an overhauled facility is schematized and the proposed method is applied. The obtained results are confirmed through a conventional international interlaboratory comparison.

Design of Household Heat Metering Management System Based on Cloud Computing

In order to meet the large-scale promotion of household heat metering in north China and respond positively the call of the national “Twelfth Five Year” plan for energy-saving and emission-reduction,the design combines the advantage of the cloud computing and cloud software and presents the overall structure of management system based on the cloud computing. Then, the paper focuses on the design of upper computer software and database[1], The upper computer software consists of two parts,one is automatic meter reading software,which is communicated with every collectors by GPRS; the other is cloud software, The cloud software improves the current heat management system by combining the smart home service concept and provides personalized services for many heating companies and vast number of families[2].

Analysis and case studies of residential heat metering and energy-efficiency retrofits in China′s northern heating region

Abstract During the past 5 years, the Chinese government has organized and implemented a large-scale energy-efficiency retrofit program for existing residential buildings in China׳s northern heating region. However, many obstacles, especially lack of successful financing arrangements, have limited the implementation of retrofits under the program. This paper analyzes the key financing challenges that have faced the program, using case studies of the different financing arrangements that have been used. Some of the key issues influencing the program׳s success to date are differing retrofit and other priorities of various stakeholders, timing and methods of payback on investments, potential investors׳ lack of access to risk analysis, uncertainty about benefit sharing, and the need for revisions in policies governing retrofits and energy contracts. We make recommendations to address these issues and improve the success of the north China energy-efficiency retrofit program.