The U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, associated with the National Conservation Policy Act, is an initiative mainly consisting of provisions designed to increase energy efficiency and availability of renewable energy. One of the main requirements is to sub-meter natural gas at various government facility locations to identify inefficiencies and remedy them. Such facilities include VA hospitals, prisons, post offices, and government-sponsored public housing. The goal was to reduce energy use a minimum of 3% per year, with up to a 30% overall reduction by 2015. (This article is retained on our website for historical records.)

Thermal Mass Flow Meters

Sage Metering provides both easy-to-install insertion thermal mass flow meters and the Sage Prime In-Line Thermal Mass Flow Meters, with built-in flow conditioners that sub-meter natural gas in individual zones. These meters are ideal for meeting flow metering provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The Sage direct mass flow meters do not require separate temperature or pressure transmitters, have no moving parts, are highly accurate and repeatable, and have a negligible pressure drop. They have extraordinary rangeability of at least 100 to 1, which is an important feature given the daily variation in flow rate and consumption of individual zones. In addition to the 4 – 20 mA output of flow rate, the meters also provide pulsed outputs of consumption and fully Modbus compliant RS485 RTU communications, all of which are ideal for larger government facilities that may have building management systems.

For difficult-to-reach pipes or locations with extreme radiant heat, Sage also offers a remote style flow meter with up to 1000 feet of lead-length compensated cable. The meters also feature bright graphical displays of flow rate, a non-resettable totalizer (often a requirement for environmental reporting), a temperature reading, plus continuous diagnostics. All electronics and power are at the transmitter – thus, the probe or flow body has a terminal junction box.

Energy Independence and Mass Flow

As such, the U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act may be partially addressed by providing a means to measure the mass flow of every individual consumption point to address areas where savings can be realized.