Accurate natural gas measurement is critical for cost allocation, leak detection, regulatory compliance, and process optimization. Emergent provides three approaches to natural gas metering — utility meter pulse integration, inline gas submeters, and insertion thermal mass meters — matched to your facility's needs, pipe configuration, and available power.

Utility Gas Meter Integration

Integration of utility gas meters is typically performed through pulse outputs installed by the utility company. Since the gas meter is an asset of the utility company, we request that the end user makes this request directly to their utility. Once this output is provided, Emergent supplies the hardware to integrate the pulses and convert them back to flow (cubic feet) or energy (therms / kWh).

This method provides the most accurate measurement for site gas consumption since the pulses originate from the utility meter itself. Since the main utility gas meter's output is being monitored, this approach assumes the utility meter to be 100% accurate regardless of its age, make, or model.

New Inline Gas Sub-Meters

New inline gas submeters are recommended for locations where power is limited and temperature range might be a concern for insertion thermal mass meters. Installation requires additional modifications to the gas pipe, including a bypass that allows for the meter to be installed without a system shutdown.

These meters provide both BACNET and MODBUS RTU communication with both analog and pulsed output options. The range of communication and output options provides maximum integration flexibility with any energy management platform.

Insertion Thermal Mass Gas Sub-Meters

Insertion thermal mass gas meters are recommended for locations where space is limited and pipe modifications to fit an inline meter are not practical. These meters are both pressure and temperature compensated and are installed through insertion of the flow sensor into the flow path. A thread-o-let is welded to the gas pipe, where a ball valve and compression coupling secure the meter in the pipe.

This option provides the lowest installed cost as long as power is available to service the meter. It also provides ease of service — the meter can be removed from the pipe without a system shutdown or bypass.

Gas Meter Data Integration and Dashboarding

Emergent Energy utilizes the Panoramic Power™ cloud dashboard as the primary integration platform for gas meters. Depending on the level of data integration and fault detection needed, additional platform options are available for dashboarding and fault detection.

Key Applications