Water Meters at Test Plant – Do Prescribed Calibration Terms Still fit?

Abstract

With implementation of domestic water meters for flats, the number of water meters increased rapidly over the last years. Contrarily, water usage constantly decreased during that time, resulting in a huge number of water meters that are operated to measure less and less water. The following analysis shows that the costs for changing water meters every 5–6 years exceed the calculated financial risk of incorrect water meters by far. A comparison between Germany and other countries demonstrates that MID certified water meters could be operated for a much longer lifetime than practiced today in Germany. The economic disadvantage that goes along with short operation cycles mainly affects customers with small water meters and low consumption.