To facilitate energy savings in apartment buildings with central heating systems, it is now mandatory to install heat distributors, or better said heat meters.
The reference standard is the DL 102/2014 which requires the installation of "individual heat regulation systems and heat metering systems to measure heat consumption at each radiator inside of the real estate unit "by 31 December 2016
The administrative penalty in the event of failure to install ranges from € 500 to € 2,500.
A manual or thermostatic valve (mechanical or electronic) will therefore be installed on every radiator in your home, allowing you to regulate the temperature of the room environment and a counter that records the heat consumption of the radiator.
Radiator calorie counter
The meter is nothing but a battery-powered electronic instrument (lasting about 10 years) that contains two probes. One measures the temperature of the radiator and the other measures the room temperature. In this way it is able to evaluate and record the heat consumption of the radiator on which it is installed.
Thermostatic valve
Thermostatic valves can work in different ways. There are mechanics that contain a bulb that expands when the ambient temperature decreases below the set parameter by opening the valve that allows the circulation of the heating liquid inside the radiator.
The electronic valves instead open and close the flow through an electric valve controlled by the electronic device that reads the ambient temperature with the integrated thermometer. In the most advanced models these valves can also be set remotely via home automation systems. In this way you can control the temperature of the rooms via your smartphone wherever you are.
Reading of consumption
The consumption readings recorded by the meters can instead be read manually by reading the screen of each instrument or if equipped with a radio system, remotely via a special tool and the relative software in the possession of specialized companies that request from 3 to 5 € per reading.
The calculation of actual consumption can only be done after mapping the plant. The type and size of the radiator will be recorded to correctly calculate the caloric consumption accounted for.
