Fluid Flow
A residential field test may require several different types of measurements related to fluid flow. The most common is the volumetric flow rate of a liquid (often water or ethylene glycol) in a pipe, typically measured using a turbine flow meter. Air flow inside ducts and the flow entering or exiting a room are useful quantities for testing a variety of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. When natural gas consumption is of interest, gas meters are used to measure the volumetric flow rate of gas. Occasionally, there may be a need to measure the flow rate of steam or of a refrigerant, but these are more likely to be encountered in laboratory test settings, as are measurements of other characteristics of fluids, such as concentration and pressure. The options for measuring a variety of fluid flow rates in a residential setting are described in the following sections.