FAQs

Diaphragm gas meters use a mechanical displacement structure and are a mature choice for residential, commercial, and small industrial applications. Goldcard offers aluminum and steel diaphragm gas meters from G1.6 up to G25, depending on the model.

Ultrasonic smart gas meters have no moving measuring components. They provide a compact structure, a wide measuring range, electronic volume conversion, intelligent diagnostics, and resistance to magnetic interference. They are more suitable for projects requiring advanced digital functions, broader flow coverage, and lower mechanical wear.

The final selection should consider the flow range, installation space, communication requirements, gas composition, billing method, and applicable local standards.

The INFINITY Smart Gas Meter focuses on modular communication, data storage, system compatibility, and long-term upgrade flexibility. Its field-replaceable IoT components help gas utilities adapt to changes in communication technologies without replacing the complete meter.

The META Smart Gas Meter places greater emphasis on operational and customer-management functions. It supports remote meter reading, remote valve control, prepaid and post-paid billing, balance alerts, and real-time self-diagnosis for conditions such as low battery, overflow, and valve leakage.

INFINITY is therefore suitable for utilities prioritizing communication flexibility and lifecycle management, while META is better suited to projects requiring integrated billing, valve control, and customer-service functions.

Depending on the product model, Goldcard smart gas meters support communication technologies including:

• NB-IoT
• LoRaWAN
• GSM
• LTE Cat.M
• LTE Cat.1
• NFC

The INFINITY series also supports the DLMS protocol for integration with different metering systems. Communication selection should be based on local network coverage, data-reporting frequency, power consumption, system architecture, and utility requirements.

Actual communication availability must be confirmed according to the selected product configuration.

Gas volume changes as temperature and pressure vary. Electronic volume conversion converts the measured operating volume into the equivalent volume under defined base conditions.

The INFINITY Smart Gas Meter uses a built-in temperature sensor for real-time volume conversion to base conditions. Goldcard’s ultrasonic smart gas meter integrates both temperature and pressure sensors, allowing real-time compensation for changes in operating conditions.

For industrial metering systems, TEC-I and TEC-III volume correctors support PTZ, PT, TZ, or T conversion, depending on the model and configuration. They also support compressibility-factor algorithms such as SGERG-88, AGA8, and AGA NX-19.

The available diagnostic functions depend on the meter model.

The META Smart Gas Meter can monitor conditions including:

• Low battery
• Overflow
• Valve leakage
• Valve operating status

The Ultrasonic Smart Gas Meter provides additional safety monitoring functions, including:

• Overflow detection
• Reverse-flow detection
• Continuous-flow detection
• High or low temperature alarms
• High or low pressure alarms
• Meter dismantling detection
• Water-ingress detection
• Tamper detection

These functions allow abnormal operating conditions to be identified and reported to the management system for timely action.

Yes. The INFINITY Lite Remote Meter Reading Module is designed to upgrade compatible mechanical diaphragm gas meters without replacing the base meter.

The module connects to the magnetic pulse output interface of the existing meter and converts mechanical movement into digital consumption data. It supports NB-IoT or LoRaWAN communication and is compatible with flow ratings from G1.6 to G40.

Its plug-and-play design does not require pipeline modification, meter disassembly, or interruption of the gas supply. This helps utilities implement remote meter reading while retaining the value of existing meter assets.

Goldcard’s Ultrasonic Smart Gas Meter is specified for gas groups H, L, and E, including gas mixtures containing up to 23% hydrogen, according to the product brochure.

For industrial applications, the TUS ultrasonic gas flowmeter supports natural gas, air, and other special gases. Certain explosion-proof configurations are certified for gas groups marked IIB + H₂.

Hydrogen compatibility should not be determined only by the hydrogen percentage. The application must also be evaluated according to operating pressure, temperature, sealing materials, meter configuration, explosion-proof requirements, and local standards.

A turbine gas flowmeter, such as the TBQM, is suitable for fiscal or in-plant measurement where the gas is relatively clean and stable. It provides a wide pressure range, pulse outputs, and accuracy suitable for commercial and industrial metering.

A rotary gas flowmeter, such as the TYL, is based on positive displacement measurement. It offers low starting flow, wide rangeability, and stable performance under varying flow conditions.

An ultrasonic gas flowmeter, such as the TUS, TUS-W, or TUF, has no moving measuring components. It is suitable for applications requiring low maintenance, wide rangeability, bidirectional measurement, intelligent diagnostics, and digital communication.

Selection should be based on minimum and maximum flow, pressure, accuracy class, gas cleanliness, installation conditions, maintenance requirements, and whether the application involves process control or custody transfer.

Straight-pipe requirements vary by product and the level of upstream flow disturbance.

For the TBQM Turbine Gas Flowmeter:

• Low-level disturbance: at least 2DN upstream and 1DN downstream
• High-level disturbance: at least 10DN upstream and 5DN downstream

For the TUS-W Ultrasonic Gas Flowmeter:

• At least 10DN upstream and 5DN downstream

For the TUF Ultrasonic Gas Flowmeter:

• One-way measurement: at least 5DN upstream and 3DN downstream
• Two-way measurement: at least 10DN upstream and 10DN downstream

Actual requirements may also depend on meter accuracy, acoustic-path configuration, flow conditioners, elbows, valves, reducers, and other upstream disturbances.

A complete gas energy metering system requires more than flow measurement alone.

The flowmeter measures the gas volume or flow rate. A volume corrector or flow computer then converts the measured volume to base conditions using pressure, temperature, and compressibility-factor data.

The TGC Online Gas Chromatography Analyzer measures natural gas composition and calculates physical properties such as calorific value and relative density. The FC-III Flow Computer combines flow, temperature, pressure, and gas-composition data to calculate corrected volume, energy flow, or mass flow.

This integrated architecture supports applications such as custody transfer, gas distribution, industrial metering, and energy trade settlement.