DMS Metering Solutions: Meter supply, selection and commissioning for building services

DMS Metering Solutions supplies third-party heat, water, gas and electricity meters, with application support, commissioning and data-collection services.

Summary

Best for
UK building-services projects needing meter selection, accessories and commissioning support.
Less suited to
Treating DMS as the original manufacturer of every meter it supplies.
Deployment
Selected third-party meters, matching sensors and communication modules, with optional support and collection services.
Data in
Heat, water, gas and electricity readings from the selected equipment.
Pricing
Pricing was not established from the reviewed technical sources; request a quote for the exact configuration.

Overview

DMS Metering Solutions is an independent supplier of metering and control equipment. Its company overview describes building services, district heating, renewables and utility applications, together with specification support and commissioning. The company should therefore be compared as a supplier and technical partner, with the original manufacturer kept visible for each product.

Its catalogue includes Sontex heat-meter products, but the wider offering also covers water, gas, electricity and specialist flow measurement. The Supercal 5I listing illustrates the kind of application detail available: calculator functions, flow-sensor compatibility, power options and communication choices. This information helps a buyer assemble a measurement system rather than purchase an isolated component without its supporting parts.

Offering

The Sontex Supercal 5I is an integrator that combines volume and temperature information for thermal-energy measurement. DMS describes native M-Bus, optional communication modules, NFC configuration and additional pulse inputs. The Supercal 5S system listing additionally identifies the flow sensor, calculator and matched Pt500 temperature sensors as parts of a complete measurement arrangement.

The smaller Superstatic 449 offers a more compact configuration, including a temperature sensor built into the meter body. Its listed pipe sizes are 15–20 mm. This provides a meaningful selection difference from choosing a separate integrator and larger flow sensor for district-heating or industrial applications.

Products and platforms

  1. Commissioning and meter-data services

    Technical services

    On-site support, data collection and billing arrangements.1

Technology

The Supercal 5 instructions distinguish the embedded M-Bus interface from additional plug-in modules. They describe individual addressing and baud-rate configuration, and explain that pulse-input readings can be included in M-Bus data. Those details help define what the collector receives from an installed integrator.

DMS's current 5I product page describes two module slots and wireless options including LoRaWAN and wireless M-Bus. NFC is used for nearby configuration, which is a different task from ongoing meter reading. The exact communication arrangement consequently depends on the selected modules and power supply, rather than every published interface being fitted simultaneously to every supplied unit.

Markets

A published food-production case study describes replacement of older heat-metering equipment using Sontex Supercal 5 equipment, matched temperature sensors and installation accessories. It illustrates DMS's role in specifying and supplying a system for an operating plant, rather than manufacturing the meter itself. The named site is not disclosed, so the case should remain an anonymous industrial example.

The services overview includes on-site technical support, commissioning, product training and metering-data collection. Billing can be offered through a managed bureau or a standalone arrangement. Those service differences are useful to building owners deciding how much of the ongoing reading and consumption-accounting process they want to operate themselves.

Company

DMS traces its start to Direct Metering Supplies in April 1999 in its company anniversary account. The article describes growth from a single room, later incorporation, expansion of the supplier portfolio and a move to larger premises. It identifies founder Ceri Minns and the long-standing relationship with Sontex, followed by the addition of PoWogaz and GWF products in 2004.

The current company address is X-Cel House in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire. DMS describes itself as independently supplying selected manufacturers' equipment and supporting customers with technical staff, training and commissioning. The company's role is therefore grounded in application knowledge, stock and delivery, and support around the installed system, rather than ownership of all the product technologies it distributes.

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References

  1. DMS supplier role, current address and services (opens in a new tab)
  2. DMS history from Direct Metering Supplies in1999 (opens in a new tab)
  3. Sontex Supercal 5I integrator and module options (opens in a new tab)
  4. Sontex Supercal 5S system components (opens in a new tab)
  5. Sontex Superstatic 449 compact-meter specification (opens in a new tab)
  6. DMS food-production heat-meter replacement case (opens in a new tab)
  7. Sontex Supercal 5 instructions: M-Bus and optional interfaces (opens in a new tab) (PDF)

This profile does not imply a commercial relationship with DMS Metering Solutions and may contain inaccuracies.