PTB News 3/2003 (150 kB) PTB News 3/2003, English edition, Issue December 2003Together with other national metrology institutes in Europe, PTB has founded the "European Metrology Association for Thermal Energy Measurement e.V." (EMATEM). The aim of this association is to establish networks with a central information office, a forum for the harmonization of test procedures in accordance with the new European Measuring Instruments Directive, and to create a liaison office for research and development in the field of thermal energy measurement.
Recently, PTB founded the registered association EMATEM together with the national metrology institutes (NMIs) of Austria (BEV), Sweden (SP), Norway (Justervesenet), Denmark (Delta) and Switzerland (METAS). The reason for this founding is the European Measuring Instruments Directive (MID) which finalizes the single European market for thermal measuring instruments and hereby modifies the roles of manufacturers, public utilities, consumers and NMIs. In Germany the value of thermal energy invoiced through thermal measuring devices per year is approximately 1 billion Euros.
EMATEM serves the establishment of three networks: the first network bundles the competencies and capacities to enhance the joint utilization of measuring and testing capabilities and to make the joint know-how available to manufacturers, public utilities and consumers in the whole of Europe without the notion of making commercial profits. A European information system will enable high standard/quality knowledge transfer via the internet (www.ematem.org) and through international workshops, seminars and conferences.
A second network offers a forum to all parties concerned (NMIs, manufacturers, public utilities, consumers and their associations) to technically harmonize the assessment procedures for conformity of heat and cold meters.
A third network is to coordinate and promote research and development work. The last EMATEM workshop already led to two joint projects for the development of transfer standards for water flow rates with low measurement uncertainties. Leading manufacturers of flow meters for liquids are parti-cipating in these projects.
Two new PTB measuring facilities constitute a substantial contribution to these European activities in the field of thermal energy measurement. These facilities serve as national standards for the flow rate of water from 5 l/h to 7000 l/h and from 3 m3/h to 1000 m3/h respectively. The smaller facility operates in a temperature range from 20 °C to 80 °C while the larger facility covers a range from 3 °C to 90 °C. Both measuring facilities allow measurements to be performed with an expanded uncertainty of 0.04 % over the whole temperature range.