Measuring Hot Water Consumption in Shared Recirculation System

[lollino]

Hello everyone,

I'm facing a rather complex situation and I need your expert advice. My neighbor and I share a boiler for hot water, and we have a single recirculation pump serving both of our homes. However, after the pump, the recirculation circuit splits into two separate branches, each serving our respective dwellings.

We currently have meters installed on the cold water to track individual consumption, but we lack a system to measure hot water usage. Our plumber claims that we cannot install meters on the hot water due to flow disturbances caused by recirculation.

I'm looking for a solution to fairly and accurately measure hot water consumption in each home. One idea I had considered was to install two meters, one at the entrance and one at the exit of the recirculation circuit, but I am aware of the technical difficulties this might entail.

I would like to know if, given the configuration of our system, a solution could be to install two separate recirculation pumps, one for each branch, and whether this could facilitate a more accurate measurement of individual consumption. Alternatively, are there flow meters or other technologies that can be effectively used in a system with these characteristics?

I would be very grateful for any advice, suggestions, or shared experiences you can offer.

Thank you very much for your time and attention to my request.

Best regards,
Lorenzo

 

[Basher]

I know there are such things as heat meters for communal hot water systems, eg in blocks of flats, but don't know anything about them.
My understanding is they measure flow, and also have two temperature probes, so can calculate energy extracted by measuring the difference between eg flow and return on hot water tank.
Might be worth researching?

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