Heat Meter Inspection, Calibration and Replacement

When does the stamp period expire?

The period runs from the stamp year, not from the date of installation. A meter that sat in a warehouse for a year has already consumed part of its period on the day it is fitted — a distinction that is missed surprisingly often and only surfaces during an audit.

Every meter’s stamp year is held on the platform and those approaching expiry are listed in advance. This matters for scheduling: when a meter is removed, that unit’s index stops. If removal falls in the middle of a billing period, the period has to be split in two.

How does inspection of a heat meter differ from a water meter?

A water meter measures one quantity: volume passed. Inspection checks its deviation at defined flow rates and stamps it if the error stays within limits.

A heat meter has three components under test — the flow sensor, the matched temperature sensor pair and the calculator. The pairing matters in particular: a small mismatch turns into a large percentage error at low temperature differences. That is why the sensors are never separated from the meter, and why heat meter inspection takes longer.

Heat cost allocators are not measuring instruments in the legal sense; they produce a proportional unit rather than an absolute value. They are not subject to inspection — what is tracked for them is battery life and correct mounting.

What happens to consumption history during replacement?

The removed meter’s closing index is recorded and the replacement starts from its own opening index. The platform holds both records as one chain for that unit, so the period’s consumption is the sum of the two differences and the history does not break.

Done by hand, this is where errors appear: if the old meter’s closing index is mistaken for the new meter’s opening index, the unit’s consumption shows as either zero or enormous. Removal and installation are a single operation on the platform.