an article from sunsonic®
There’s a difference between “still working” and “still working well.” Many systems keep mechanical water meters in place for years, often because they haven’t failed outright. But in water management, visible failure isn’t the only problem. It’s the hidden inefficiencies, the missed data, and the maintenance that accumulates silently, piling up costs. Here’s how to know when it’s time to make the switch.
Mechanical meters, especially positive displacement and turbine types, tend to struggle with very low or intermittent flows. These are often the exact conditions seen at night or during low-demand periods. The result? Underreporting usage—and underbilling customers. Ultrasonic meters, on the other hand, regularly detect flow rates at velocities as low as 0.05 gpm (gallons per minute), depending on the model. That means you're capturing more of what’s actually moving through the system, even in low-usage hours.
With age comes friction. Literally. Moving parts degrade, magnet drives fail, and bearings seize. Mechanical meters require periodic calibration and internal part replacements. If your team is routinely servicing aging meters, you're not just paying for parts—you’re paying for labor, downtime, and travel. Ultrasonic meters, by contrast, require no moving parts, which means less mechanical wear and drastically lower maintenance frequency over their lifespan.
Old meters were installed for old systems. But systems evolve—pipes are rerouted, flow demands shift, and usage patterns change. A meter-sized or calibrated for yesterday’s setup might be mismatched for today’s. Ultrasonic meters are better equipped to handle dynamic or variable flows, especially where flow profiles don’t stay consistent. They also adapt better to complex flow paths in retrofit or mixed-material pipe environments.
Manual meter reading slows everything down. If your meters require someone in a truck to check them—or worse, someone to crawl into a vault—you’re wasting time. Most ultrasonic meters integrate easily with AMI/AMR systems, SCADA platforms, or cellular data modules. That means real-time data, alerts, and analytics at your fingertips. Better decisions, faster troubleshooting, and easier reporting.
Air, swirl, and reverse flow can wreak havoc on traditional meters. These often rely on consistent, fully developed flow profiles to work correctly. Ultrasonic meters—especially those using transit-time technology with dual-path sensors—can more accurately differentiate true flow from signal noise. That means better accuracy even under tough conditions, and you have a deeper understanding of what’s actually happening.
The true cost of legacy metering isn’t just in parts or repairs—it’s in the opportunities you miss every day they’re still in service. In other words: time. From underreported usage to lost efficiency, sticking with the status quo might be the most expensive decision of all. Upgrading to an ultrasonic system isn’t just a tech move—it’s a move toward more visibility, deeper insights, better decisions being made, and fewer headaches down the road.
