MID & WRAS Technical Terms Explained
You may see on our website the terms, MID and WRAS thrown around quite a lot. And if you’re a consumer, you may not know what these technical terms are and what they stand for.
So we thought we’d break it down for all our customers who aren’t in the know and explain what these terms mean and why they’re important.
What Is MID Approval?
MID (Measuring Instruments Directive) is a European Directive that lists the requirements for different measuring instrument types for domestic, commercial and light industrial use.
The measuring instrument types include:
- Water meters
- Gas meters & volume conversion devices
- Active electrical energy meters
- Heat meters
- Measuring systems for the continuous and dynamic measurement of liquids other than water
- Automatic weighing instruments
- Taxi meters
- Material measures
- Dimensioning systems
- Exhaust gas analysers
MID approved meters need to go through and adhere to a series of assessment procedures and have MID marketing which allows the instruments to be used for fiscal billing purposes in any EU member state.
Any new meters post-October 2006 must be approved under MID regulations, if before October 2006, they are eligible to remain installed indefinitely, as long as they are measuring accurately.
What is WRAS Approval?
WRAS (Water Regulations Advisory Scheme) helps companies and individuals comply with byelaws and water fittings regulations.
Requirements include water fittings should not cause any waste, misuse, undue consumption or even contamination of the water supply and must meet the appropriate quality standards.
WRAS Approval is the easiest way to show compliance and is backed by water suppliers that are accepted throughout the UK.
Valves, boilers and showers undergo mechanical and water quality testing which, when approved, demonstrates full compliance with requirements of the regulations and byelaws provided that the fitting is installed according to any conditions given with the approval.
It’s important to note that WRAS Approval applies to both hot and cold water meters.
How Accurate Are Water Meters?
Water meters must be accurate or else they may fail MID or WRAS regulations.
If it fails a MID test or it is a non-approved meter for fiscal billing purposes, there may be a potential fine of up to £1,000 per non-MID meter.
Furthermore, a consumer is also within their rights to refuse payment on a non-MID meter.
Water meters are given an “R” followed by a number to denote the accuracy.
The higher the number, the more accurate the water meter. The R100 meter is much more accurate than an R50 meter.
When a meter is installed however, it may affect the accuracy class. This can occur from many factors such as the position of the water meter, whether it’s installed horizontal or vertical, this seemingly affects the accuracy.
So it’s best to check the technical data sheet, or give our technical support team a call for more information on the best way to install our water meters for optimised accuracy.
Buy From A Trusted & Certified Supplier Today
DMS Metering Solutions are one of the UK’s leading suppliers of hot and cold water meters. As UK exclusive Apator PoWogaz distributors, fully compliant and certified to stock and supply all our products, you can rest assured that we know a thing or two about our products!
And that’s why we offer full technical support with all our items, so if you ever have a question and need an answer quickly, just give our team a call who are always on-hand and happy to help answer any questions you may have.
