BTU or flow metering

Long Beach Ed

We tried doing that here in New York.

It's illegal here. We would have to be registered with the Public Service Commission and meet their requirements for gas quality and meter inspection.

We would also be taxed as a utility operator.

Just my two cents.

Gary Jansen_4

BTU or flow metering device needed

I have an apartment owner, 32 unit, with a multiple boiler setup. He wants to charge each tenant a portion of the gas bill according to their usage. At on time there was a thread about an inline meter of some sort to measure the heat used in a given apartment. Can anyone help me out with a name or source? Thanks, Gary

ALH_4

Regulation gone wrong...

There has to be a way to change that. BTU metering is a great idea. Individual heating systems for each unit are inefficient and unnecessary. I wonder if a boiler manufacturer would get involved if a potential boiler sale was involved?

jp_2

water meter and delta T

how could you go wrong with a standard city water meter and a delta T meter?

could input both of these measurements in a prgrammable relay/counter per each apartment

Tom Blackwell_2

There are a number of companies that market btu meters. One is Onicon; uses a turbine meter and temperature sensors with a small readout unit. There also exist companies that do this as a service, including the billing.

Mike T., Swampeast MO

The problem with such is that it does put you in the exact same position as a utility company.

After all, you have told renters or owners that some cost is based on their and their alone actual use and they will expect a reasonable degree of accuracy similar to anything metered by any utility.

In a condition where you must accurately measure two variables--temperature and flow--instead of only one variable like other utility providers, accurate and reliable equipment will be quite expensive with routine, GUARANTEED maintenance or replacement required.

The FIRST person the apartment owner should talk to is a lawyer. No "standard" lease or bill of sale will work and if the owner does not have a proper contract legal costs could easily far exceed that of conferring FIRST with a lawyer.

There is actually a movement underfoot to force gasoline retailers to compensate for the temperature of the gasoline they provide. While the differences in quantity delivered are tiny at the temp differences experienced in most places in most conditions, the notion that "I get EXACTLY what I pay for out of a meter" is incredibly strong.

BTW, I don't particularly care for lawyers and I do everything to avoid having to use them. For that reason I would not consider doing this as it is CERTAIN to involve them with unclear legal standards.

Roger Michaud

BTU metering

Innovex Technologies has developed a low cost metering application that is traceable to the National Bureau of Standards. As regards legality, if the lease is correctly written and the billing program traceable to at least an hourly consumption standard, a landlord can in fact seperately aportion heating costs. Innovex is currently doing a BETA test site with a major utility and they are absolutely committed to BTU metering. I agree with Andrew, individual units for heating and hot water are not an efficient use of energy or equipment. Although there are standards regulating the metering, I do believe that over time the efficacy of BTU metering will find a home. We will post additional documentation on this site as we move forward with the program in conjunction with iWorX contractors and wholesalers who are adopting BTU metering.