WATERFLUX 3070
Electromagnetic Water Meters Offer Major Benefits for Monitoring and Billing of Cold Water Usage
for Industrial, Commercial and Agricultural Users
Introduction
Water is a scarce and precious commodity. Worldwide, the competition between domestic, commercial,
industrial and agricultural sectors for clean water is intensifying and putting enormous pressure on fresh
water resources. As a result, the price of water is increasing throughout the world. Pricing and metering are
seen as important tools for more efficient use of water and water conservation. Metering also enables billing
or revenue collection based on actual water consumption. The more valuable water gets, the more
interested the market is in the accuracy and reliability of water meters.
Bulk metering
Commercial and industrial water meters or bulk meters are used for monitoring and billing the water
consumption of large cold water users. Large consumers of water include industrial plants, office buildings,
hospitals, schools, hotels and apartment buildings. Although industrial and commercial customers often
comprise a limited number of customers compared to the number of residential customers, they consume a
relatively large share of the total water supplied by a water company and thus a significant part of their
revenues. Water companies are setting up separate divisions for industry water services.
For various reasons, mechanical meters once dominated the water meter market for measuring drinking
water of residential and commercial users. However, mechanical meters are losing market share to
electromagnetic water meters for bulk measurements as the latter offer much higher accuracies (+ 0.2%
compared to 2% or even 5%) and, contrary to mechanical meters, they do maintain their accuracy over time.
Electromagnetic water meters increasingly popular
Contrary to many other industries where electromagnetic, ultrasonic and mass flowmeters have the highest
growth rates and large market shares, in the drinking water market the use of mechanical meters has
remained very popular. One of the reasons for this is that mechanical meters do not require mains power,
do not require an electrical infrastructure and continue to function in the event of a power failure. Cabling
costs can be high, especially in remote areas as well as highly populated areas, and are subject to
tampering. With the introduction of battery or solar power technology for electromagnetic water meters this
problem has been overcome. KROHNE, market leader in electromagnetic flowmeters, has launched the
battery powered WATERFLUX 3070 with a high accuracy over a large turndown ratio combined with a very
long battery life.
Power of independence
One of the major trends in water metering is data logging and remote reading of measurement data.
Facilitating automatic data reading and collection is especially beneficial for water meters distributed over
wide areas or located in remote areas or locations that are difficult to reach such as underground
installations in busy city centers, or in areas in or close to buildings that are often closed or locked.
WATERFLUX 3070, the battery driven, stand alone water meter, can be equipped with a data logger and
wireless communication (GSM) modem. The optional module also operates on batteries and can be
connected to any GSM network. The data logger and GSM module improve the efficiency of cold water
distribution networks by continuously reading the connected water meters and transferring the data to a
supervisory control and data acquisition system. Wireless meter reading saves the high costs of manual
1/3
reading and can also be used to check the water meter condition and rapidly identify meter failure, vandalism
or tampering.
Major cost savings in installation and maintenance
Pricing is always an important criterion in the selection of a meter. Increasingly, companies focus on the
total cost of ownership including the purchase price, the costs of inaccuracy, under registration, and
installation and maintenance costs. With an accuracy of +0.2% compared to +2% and even higher for
mechanical meters, the WATERFLUX pays for itself within a month.
Compared to mechanical meters such as Woltman turbine meters, electromagnetic water meters have many
other benefits. Whereas mechanical water meters have internal moving parts, electromagnetic water meters
are obstruction free and without moving parts. As a result, mechanical meters are subject to wear and their
performance deteriorates over time. Electromagnetic water meters maintain their accuracy over time and,
due to their robust construction, the time spent on routine maintenance and service activities can be reduced
to a minimum. Wear of mechanical meters results in under registrations and thus lower revenues for the
company providing water. In the worst case, there is no registration at all. The economical and technical life
time of an electromagnetic water meter can be up to 20 years or more. There is no need to replace the
meter or its internal parts as with turbine meters. Since they are obstruction free, another important benefit
of electromagnetic flowmeters is that they cause negligible pressure loss in the distribution network.
The differences in water use between day and night can be huge and, ideally, water meters should be able
to measure low and high flow rates with high accuracy. In addition, especially for new locations, it can be
difficult to make a precise forecast of water usage. A major drawback of mechanical water meters is that
they have difficulty with accurate measurement of low flows and with large variations in flow rates. If the
chosen size of a water meter is too high, flow rate will be relatively too low leading to significant under
registrations. If a meter is undersized, it will frequently operate at high flow rates and will degrade much
faster. WATERFLUX 3070 has overcome these problems because it measures very accurately at low and
high flow rates. Its high turndown ratio allows for accurate metering both day and night.
Underground installation
The WATERFLUX 3000 sensor is approved to IP 68 which allows the meter to be submerged in water, to
bury the meter directly underground, or for installation in small measurement chambers underground, all
leading to significant savings in installation costs. Mechanical meters cannot be buried directly underground.
Further savings in installation costs are possible because of the limited inlet and outlet sections that are
required for WATERFLUX 3070. An inlet of only 3D and outlet of 1D is unique in the market and allows for
installation in small spaces. In addition, straighteners, advised for mechanical meters as their performance
depends on the uniformity of the flow profile, are not required as a result of the innovative construction of the
WATERFLUX.
In addition, the WATERFLUX compact and lightweight
unobstructed flow sensor, a strainer or extra cabling are
batteries and it measures forward and reverse flows with the
much simpler as there are no separate models for horizontal
design makes installation easier. With its
not required because WATERFLUX runs on
same accuracy. Engineering has also become
or vertical installation or for high and low flows.
Unique rectangular design
A lot of research and development has gone into the innovative and unique sensor design of the
WATERFLUX 3070. The basis for having a rectangular cross-section goes back to the initial idea of
Faraday, the founder of the electromagnetic measuring principle. Based on the design, the magnetic coils
2/3
are placed closer together creating a strong and stable magnetic field. The distance between the electrodes,
however, is relatively larger than the distance between the coils compared to a standard round design. The
patented rectangular design results in:
●
Strong and homogeneous magnetic field
The closer the coils are together, the better the incoming and outgoing signals.
●
Improved signal to noise ratio.
The induced signal voltage is much higher than the signal noise level, resulting in a very accurate
measurement over the full measuring range.
●
Low energy consumption.
By shortening the distance between the coils, the less power they need to be excited. The low energy
consumption allows for longer battery life. The battery life of the WATERFLUX can be up to 15 years,
depending on the settings of the customer.
●
Improved flow profile.
Regardless of the installation position, the flow profile is always constant and this allows for the very short
inlet and outlet sections needed for the instrument.
●
Zero point stability.
Due to the constant flow profile, the measurement is stable at no and at low flows. This enables high
accuracies over a wide turndown ratio.
Conclusion
The battery powered, stand alone WATERFLUX 3070 offers utilities major opportunities for improving
revenues and reducing installation and maintenance costs while maintaining initial accuracy and improving
long-term accuracy, compared to mechanical water meters. Based on its innovative rectangular design,
WATERFLUX 3070 can guarantee a very high accuracy over a wide flow range, a low energy consumption
and improved flow profile, allowing for very small inlet and outlet sections.
Gerard E.M.R. van Boven
Sr. Product Manager electromagnetic flowmeters
KROHNE
3/3