Ultrasonic water meter is a new type of water meter which can calculate the flow rate of water by detecting the time difference caused by the change of speed when the ultrasonic beam propagates in the water upstream and downstream.
Ultrasonic water meter performance characteristics
High accuracy: the typical error can reach ±1%, more than 1 times higher than the mechanical water meter.
Wide range: the range ratio can reach up to 400:1, which is 5 times that of the mechanical water meter, and can be applied to various water conditions.
Low start: Very high sensitivity, small water flow can be identified, which can effectively improve the income of the water supply department.
Small pressure loss: the straight-through metering pipe section structure has little effect on water flow obstruction, which can reduce costs for the water supply department.
No wear: there is no mechanical wear phenomenon of traditional water meters, and the measurement accuracy will not decrease after long-term operation.
Strong protection: Product structure and principle ensure that the water meter can work for a long time under high pressure, low temperature and water immersion conditions will not be damaged.
Tamper-proof: digital encryption technology can prevent users from tampering with internal data and send an alarm message when the water meter is illegally disassembled.
Development prospect
- Metrological performance
Accurate measurement of water consumption is the basic requirement of ultrasonic water meters as measuring instruments, water meter manufacturers should continue to optimize product technical routes and production processes, and constantly improve the metering performance of ultrasonic water meters, ensure that the metering performance is not affected by the service life of products and water quality, and reduce the non-income water supply or disputed water supply caused by meter metering errors in the water supply department.
- Protection capability
Water meters not only require accurate measurement, but also need to be durable. The structural design of the ultrasonic water meter should fully consider that the product will not be damaged under various climatic environments such as exposure to sunlight, dust, water, immersion, high temperature, low temperature, and high humidity for a long time. In addition, data encryption and redundant backup algorithms should be used to ensure that the electronic measurement data stored inside the ultrasonic water meter is not tampered with illegally.
- Intelligent function
At present, the so-called “intelligence” of smart water meters is only a simple management function such as data remote transmission or cost control. Ultrasonic water meters should provide users with intelligent application functions such as water consumption statistics, water consumption behavior assessment, and pipe network status early warning on the basis of its digital measurement results, and provide reasonable suggestions for water supply units to optimize water supply and users to save water.
- Manufacturing cost
The material cost, quality control cost of key components, and finished product assembly and calibration cost of ultrasonic water meters are higher than that of mechanical water meters, resulting in high product prices compared with traditional smart water meters. The water supply department can not bring significant economic benefits by purchasing ultrasonic water meters in bulk.
- Battery life
At present, each water meter manufacturer evaluates the battery life according to the rated capacity of the battery and the average working current of the electronic circuit board, but the actual water meter installation and use conditions of the ambient temperature change and long-term use of the battery self-discharge and other factors will lead to rapid attenuation of battery power. Mass meter replacement due to battery problems can have serious social and economic consequences.
- Electronic parts reliable
The ultrasonic water meter has the problem of the reliability of the electronic parts of the mechanical water meter in long-term operation. Water meter manufacturers need to strictly verify the reliability of ultrasonic sensors, electronic circuit boards and embedded functional software, and break the mindset of “electronic without mechanical reliability” generated by the water supply department due to long-term dealings with mechanical water meters.
- Applicability of water quality
In theory, the metering performance of the ultrasonic water meter will not be affected by the water quality, but in actual working conditions, if there is a long-term accumulation of impurities such as sediment in the pipeline, or too high pH in the water, it may pollute and corrode the transmitting and receiving surface of the ultrasonic sensor and the metal reflector of the acoustic reflection mechanism, blocking the acoustic wave path, resulting in no measurement.
At present, some domestic water meter manufacturers with technical strength have carried out the design and development of small-caliber household ultrasonic water meters. As a brand new product, ultrasonic water meters have broad development prospects in the future.