Technical reference
Buy a meter for the duty.
Start with the five decisions, or go straight to the question on your specification. The full guide is open to everyone.
The five decisions that determine the right meter
1. **Purpose:** Are you billing for consumption, monitoring usage, controlling a process, measuring a batch or calculating heating/cooling e
Guide 2What a water meter measures
A consumption meter records **volume**: how much water has passed through it. The reading is usually a cumulative total in cubic metres or l
Guide 3Quick selection by application
The options below are starting points, not interchangeable substitutes. Each must pass the flow, fluid, installation and approval checks lat
Guide 4Mechanical water meters
Mechanical meters use moving parts to measure water. Many can totalize locally without external power, which makes them useful where a simpl
Guide 5Electromagnetic water meters
An electromagnetic meter, often called a mag meter or EMF meter, measures flow using the electrical signal induced when a conductive liquid
Guide 6Ultrasonic water meters
Read the complete technical guidance and purchase checks.
Guide 7Specialist meters and measurement systems
Read the complete technical guidance and purchase checks.
Guide 8How to size a water meter properly
Read the complete technical guidance and purchase checks.
Guide 9Technical details that matter before ordering
| Specification | What to request | What not to assume |
Guide 10Water-meter communications explained
Think of a connected system as five parts: **meter → interface/module → network or gateway → software → billing, dashboard or control system
Guide 11Installation and commissioning
Good measurement depends on the installed system. Use the exact manufacturer's instructions for the ordered configuration.
Guide 12Approvals, drinking-water suitability and documentation
Three different questions need separate answers: **Can it measure accurately? Can its wetted materials be used for this water? Is it accepte
Guide 13What a water meter really costs
Compare total cost over a common ownership period:
Guide 14Reading problems and what they may mean
| Symptom | Possible explanations to investigate | Useful first check |
Guide 15Common buying mistakes
Buying by pipe diameter alone. Comparing accuracy percentages with different bases. Treating a maximum/overload flow as continuous capacity.
Guide 16A purchase specification you can copy
Send the following with your enquiry. Use “unknown—please assess” where information is missing instead of inventing a value.
Read or print the complete guide on one page
See the physics behind the reading.
Explore flow, moving parts and sensing signals with eight interactive experiments.
Explore how meters work →