Clamp-on Ultrasonic Flow Meters Improve Energy Efficiency for Dubai Retail Property

Meeting the Challenge

Hydronic heating and cooling systems aim to provide a building’s energy efficiency, reduce operating costs and increase sustainability as part of net zero initiatives. When measuring energy within a closed-loop network, flow meters are essential for maintaining long-term accuracy, reliability and repeatability within heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Commercial buildings must meet stringent energy efficiency requirements, automatically integrating with building management systems.

Due to the hot and dry climate of Dubai, it is critically important to measure water flow in order to check system integrity, preventing and detecting inefficiencies or leakages. In addition, energy and water consumption costs have a significant impact on large public buildings such as shopping malls, making metering data solutions crucial for guiding future facility management decisions.

With BlueEdge™ solutions available for all aspects of the HVAC industry, Badger Meter provides critical flow, water quality and energy data that can be utilized to enhance efficiency and longevity in any HVAC system, helping to achieve net-zero and decarbonization targets.

The Solution

To facilitate optimum cooling services, the mall also houses proprietary chiller plants, while upholding the built-in design environment. To ensure the comfort of visitors and staff, operators were required to better understand the water flow within the chiller to optimize its efficiency, according to the required load. A series of Dynasonics^® TFX-5000 clamp-on ultrasonic flow meters were installed to accurately measure the flow, without causing any system shutdowns, integrating the measurement data seamlessly into their building management systems (BMS) to enhance their operations. Exercising precise flow analysis enabled pumps to optimize in response to built-in demand, thereby conserving energy and associated costs.

Using Dynasonics clamp-on ultrasonic flow technology, the meters were installed on the running system without having to make pipe interventions or requiring a system shutdown. The sensor design is optimized to provide quick and easy installation, along with long-term robust measurement. As the TFX-5000 has no moving parts, there is no need for maintenance or replacement parts throughout the life of the meter, resulting in no additional maintenance or service costs.

The TFX-5000 is available in a variety of configurations to meet individual application requirements, supporting an encoder output for use with Badger Meter ORION^® Cellular Endpoints for connecting to the AquaCUE^® or BEACON^® Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud-based software suite. Alternatively, it can link directly to Building Management Systems.

Forming part of the BlueEdge suite of scalable water technology, software and services solutions from Badger Meter provides actionable data for proactive decision-making and offer a comprehensive, solution-driven approach to water management that drives innovation and sustainability. This unique approach is designed to improve the visibility and optimization of assets, delivering instant access to data, performance analytics and alerts, layered on top of related system information to inform and improve response times. Expertly crafted and tailored to individual needs, BlueEdge solutions are deployable at every point along a smart water journey.

Conclusion

Empowered by the non-invasive Dynasonics TFX-5000 ultrasonic clamp-on flow meters, this major shopping mall successfully integrated precise and dependable flow measurement solutions, granting enhanced visibility and authoritative control over energy and water consumption, delivering:

By incorporating TFX-5000 flow meters into the shopping mall’s HVAC system, facility managers achieved better control over the environment, reduced operational costs and enhanced the overall comfort and satisfaction of shoppers and tenants.

Offering a portfolio of leading-edge solutions for HVAC systems that accurately measure flow and water quality, BlueEdge from Badger Meter delivers energy-efficient solutions along with proactive prevention against corrosion within closed-loop systems. Available for all aspects of the HVAC industry, our exceptionally durable and accurate flow, energy and water quality instruments are available in a range of metering technologies, materials and sizes that can be custom-made to suit every stage in an HVAC system’s lifespan, whether it be a new build or retrofit. No matter the size of the operation or number of connections in the system, BlueEdge has a solution for every unique application.