Submetering vs. Utility Meter Data: Understanding the Differences

There are a variety of reasons our customers look to collect their energy usage data. There are also a variety of pathways to accomplish their site metering and sub-metering goals.

Site-Level Metering

The way that we define site metering is basically the simplest form of meter data collection. This is when we integrate the utility meter's data into our metering platform through pulsed outputs directly from the utility meter. The data captured is meant to be high level (site wide) data that tracks electric, gas and water data from the main utility meters.

Through the use of utility meter pulses, quite a few objectives can be achieved:

Benchmarking of site performance against prior years
Demand Response participation — providers run their entire program based on the main electric meter's pulse feedback
Bill Parity — utility meters can be used to compare against utility bills to ensure errors are captured
Peak Load Management — in regions where peak electric rates can be significant, utility pulses can manage site peak demand
Total property consumption tracking for energy or water

What Is Submetering?

Although utility meters can provide some guidance on site performance, the utility meter primarily acts as a feedback device. Since the main utility meter is far away from a specific process or equipment, energy management at the equipment level is not possible. For this reason, sub-metering is needed to capture data at the equipment level.

Electric Submetering

The cost of installing an electric sub meter can vary depending on the model, installation requirements, and labor costs. Emergent Metering offers technical understanding to develop and deliver metering projects through a variety of hardware options. As we are product agnostic, we support our customers with identifying metering products that will fit their needs. Our typical approach is to evaluate the cost per metering point and find opportunities to drive down the cost of each data point captured.

Gas Submetering

Similar to installing an electric sub meter, the cost for a gas submeter can also vary significantly depending on pipe size and availability of power.

The simplest process of gas submetering is the installation of a rotary style inline meter. This is a mechanical meter that relies on gas pressure to operate and provides an analog display showing volumetric consumption. However, it will not come equipped with gas temperature or pressure compensation.

For this reason, we recommend the use of insertion thermal mass meters for gas submetering needs. Since the gas meter is an insertion probe, the cost of the meter will be the same regardless of the pipe size. With available power and data connectivity, these meters provide both pressure and temperature compensation and offer accuracy with communication options including analog, pulse, and open protocol (BACNET & MODBUS).

Water Submetering

Water submeter selection based on the application is an essential step. Similar to natural gas submetering, there is a sizing and selection process based on pipe size and anticipated flow volume. At Emergent Metering, we recommend either inline turbine or ultrasonic water meters.

The span of the flow meter's ability to measure minimum flow conditions relative to peak flow conditions can vary significantly between metering technologies. Inline installations for lines less than 2" can be completed relatively easily. For larger lines, we would look to migrate to an ultrasonic water meter installation.

Integration with Energy Management Systems

Due to the significant number of possible submeters within a site, the data read process is typically performed by an energy management system. This system provides monitoring, control, and optimization of energy usage. By combining submetering with these systems, building owners and tenants gain access to real-time data and analytics that help identify energy-saving opportunities.

Conclusion

Submetering is an essential step in understanding energy use at specific processes or tenant spaces. The overall system should be well designed with proper hardware submetering components, integration, networking and dashboarding being considered throughout the process.

To learn more about how we can help with your submetering needs, reach out to us at sales@emergentenergy.us.