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Impact

 

The project will provide input to a number of national and international committees dealing with water metering. In particular, significant input is anticipated for the working groups WELMEC WG13 “Utility meters”, OIML TC8/SC5 “Water meters” and ISO/TC 30/SC 7 “Water meters”. As actual water consumption profiles deviate strongly from the well‑defined, constant and reproducible reference flows as prescribed e. g. in existing documents in legal metrology such as OIML R49 or ISO 4064, this might affect the cumulative uncertainty of water meters which is not seen in the standard continuous test regime. The research to be carried out in this project will contribute to solve this issue.

The project will deliver relevant input into all national bodies dealing with sampling of water meters as it will provide systematic insights on how real‑world conditions may affect water meter performance, including associated measurement deviations and means to estimate effects. By having sound information on the statistical distribution of measurement deviations and long‑term meter behaviour, sampling requirements may be adjusted and made more efficient.

As a result of the project, metrological infrastructure and protocols will be available to assess domestic water meters under dynamics load changes in future. The rigs developed in the project for meter tests under dynamic load changes will be realised based on different principles which will facilitate uptake by stakeholders (e. g. manufacturers of water meters) and will strengthen confidence in the novel test regime and associated measurement uncertainties. The project outputs will support consumer protection because now the measurement trueness of water meters under real-world conditions can be verified.