Point of Use (POU) meters are designed to provide a submetering solution for those properties that cannot be submetered with conventional submeters due to plumbing designs that bring multiple pipes into the apartment or office (stacked pipes). The meters were specifically designed for vertical stacked pipe configurations typically found on properties that use a central boiler to provide hot water.
In a typical installation, very small flow meters are installed inconspicuously at each hot and cold water outlet to the shower/tub, toilet, sink, dishwasher, and clothes washer. Depending on the manufacturer, the flowmeters have a built-in transmitter or are connected to an interface/transmitter board. The transmitters report usage information to a central processing computer, which in turn sends the usage information to a billing center where bills can be printed and sent to the end user.
Equipment and installation costs are typically higher than traditional systems, but payback is typically less than a year. When deciding on a POU meter, a primary consideration should be that the meters can be read by any Automated Reading System (AMR). This allows the property owner to choose from many billing companies and not tie them to a team that only a few companies can read.
Numerous studies have shown that under-metering reduces usage by up to 39%. Although POU meters have been available for over ten years, they have not been widely used until recently. With today’s interest in green solutions and rising water and sewer costs, properties that in the past could not traditionally be metered are now installing POU meters and benefiting from the same type of usage reductions that properties with conventional plumbing have. achieved for years. With approximately 50% of apartments and 90% of office buildings using stacked standpipes, the benefits of sub-metering with POU meters have barely been touched.
