The development of modern industry and household power grids goes hand in hand with the development of a modern electricity metering system, as a result of which it was decided to introduce accuracy classes of electricity meters.
How is the situation today?
At the moment in Russia there are many different companies that produce and sell electricity meters, while the technical innovations offered by various manufacturers are unique, and basically they cannot be compared. At the same time, many users do not know how to choose the right devices that have really useful functions for each person, and how to correctly determine the accuracy classes of electricity meters.
In the modern world, proper accounting and energy management has long been one of the most important tasks in the energy sector, while one of the latest steps in this direction by domestic electrical engineering can be called an initiative aimed atthe formation of smart grids.
Features of domestic and foreign practice
Back in 2009, the US decided to allocate the first $4 billion for the development of a project using smart grids, and this eventually gave rise to the AMI campaign. The accuracy classes of the electricity meters used and developed for the implementation of this project were the most modern digital metering devices, which provide a single dispatch directly with a separate operator's computer. This is far from being a standard class 2 electricity meter, but a much more accurate and efficient device.
Thus, already in 2015 it was planned to install more than 40 million of these meters, which will give a significant boost to the development of the energy industry in this country.
In Russia, initiatives are also gradually being introduced that provide for the introduction of not only the main systems for dispatching meter readings, including also the active introduction of special metering devices that can be combined into a full-fledged information network. Back in the last century, the introduction of such systems for automatic control and metering of electricity was laid, however, to create truly large-scale systems at that time, it was necessary to have more modern technologies. Given the trend towards the active use of microprocessor technologies, this direction has made it possible to create new accuracy classes of electric meters.
What are modern devices?
At the moment, high-tech microprocessor meters provide the ability to establish two-way communication with a special dispatcher console. At the same time, it should be noted that there are a wide variety of ways to transmit information, including broadcasting through power wires, an optical port, an RF modem, a Wi-Fi channel, and many other options. Each of the above combination schemes has its advantages and disadvantages.
Also, modern manufacturers have recently given a fairly large number of characteristics that are unnecessary and incomprehensible to the average consumer, and in particular, this concerns the service life, weight, degree of moisture and dust protection, the information encoding system used and the some other data. Such information is more relevant for specialized energy sales organizations that take such equipment into operation, as well as purchase and install it at various facilities.
How is the choice mostly made?
In the vast majority of cases, the main selection criterion for modern consumers is the price, and even if a person needs, for example, an electric meter of the 2nd accuracy class, in the end he will purchase a device that has the most optimal cost. At the same time, technically literate buyers can pay attention to the rated current, the type of indicator used and the completeness of the information that this device will provide through its monitor.
However, there is also another parameter that must be taken into account in the process of choosing the necessary device for metering consumed energy - this is what accuracy class is needed for residential electricity meters.
What is this?
In fact, the accuracy class represents the degree of error of a device. This parameter must be displayed on the front panel of this device without fail and has the form of a number placed in a circle. Thus, if you purchase an electric meter of the second accuracy class, then in this case the figure “2” should be present in the circle.
How are they different?
Today, there is a certain system of standard values for accuracy classes of such devices, which is adopted not only in Russia, but also in many other civilized countries. This classification distributes all electricity metering devices into the following groups:
- 5.0;
- 2.0;
- 1.0;
- 0.5;
- 0.2.
In accordance with this classification, it is already the relevant authorities in various countries who decide which accuracy class is required for residential electricity meters. At the same time, it is immediately worth noting the fact that in a certain number of cases numbers can be written without a decimal part, and if the Latin letter S is also added to the designation, then this indicates that a structuredmetal, which provides a higher degree of reliability and durability of this equipment.
The best option in this case can be called an electric meter of the 1st accuracy class.
Why is this parameter so important?
At first glance, a sufficiently large error rate may ultimately be beneficial for the consumer, and many try to be guided by this when choosing which accuracy class the electric meter should have. In this case, if the error leans upwards, then, if necessary, you can write a complaint directly to the power supply company, and as a result, they will be required to replace the device as soon as possible. However, if the error is directed precisely in favor of the consumer, then in this case it begins to bring direct benefits to the owner of the apartment.
In this regard, when determining what accuracy class the electric meter in the apartment should have, we can say that it is better to choose a device that has an accuracy class of 5.0 and 2.0, and install not even an electronic, but an induction device equipped with a rotating disk, since this counter can be easily slowed down. Many at one time heard about the braking effect of a powerful magnet located on the cover of this counter.
How safe is it?
In fact, the application of such measures is quite easy to track, and therefore many people first try to figure out how to determine the accuracy class of the electricity meter andinstall a truly appropriate device in your home. Moreover, one should not forget that such methods of deceiving metering devices are well known among employees of energy supply companies, and any violations recorded by the controller can ultimately result in a serious fine for unscrupulous consumers.
How to reduce electricity bills?
First of all, if you want to reduce the level of energy consumed, you must figure out how to find out the accuracy class of the electric meter, and decide on the most optimal device for your apartment or private house. Also, you should only use specialized economical electrical equipment. Depending on how the appliance consumes power and emits a luminous flux, all devices are divided into seven main classes, having the corresponding letters from A to G. Thus, A-class devices are the most efficient and economical among all others.
Proximity devices
For owners of non-contact devices, it is not even necessary to know the required accuracy class of the electricity meter. Recently, such equipment has become quite common on the market and is purchased by many owners of apartments and private houses.
A contactless electricity meter is a device that differs from the rest in a fundamentally different way of collecting information. In an ordinary deviceprovides for the use of current and voltage windings, which ensure the flow of all the current necessary for the operation of various devices. It should be noted that in this scheme, absolutely the entire electrical network of the meter will be constantly energized by ~ 220V, and at the same time will be subjected to exactly the same voltage surges as in the case of a home network. This option is rather unreliable, regardless of whether you use electricity meters of accuracy class 2.5 or use any other devices.
What are their benefits?
In the case of a non-contact device, the current winding has no constructive relationship with the logical part. The values of the flowing current are taken without the need to make direct contact with the wire by means of an isolated current transformer. At the same time, it should be noted that the accuracy of such equipment significantly exceeds the accuracy of standard devices due to the fact that there are no additional noise in the logic circuit. In other words, it is impossible to find contactless electricity meters of accuracy class 2.0 or any similar devices.
In order to read the voltage values, the two wires passing through this device must not develop. The use of specialized clamping screws allows for direct contact with the wire at one point, which makes it possible to achieve an increased degree of dust and moisture protection of the equipment. Whereinvoltage ~220V cannot be allowed to the meter logic circuit with the help of specialized circuit solutions, as well as the use of additional galvanic isolation.
Such devices can be installed by everyone, without even thinking about what class of accuracy of the electric meter he may need. This design is distinguished by increased reliability, has enhanced protection from external influences, and in the process of their production, they provide for increased design measures for fire safety. Among other things, when determining the accuracy class of an electric meter for the population, it is worth paying attention to these devices also for the reason that they exclude the possibility of electricity theft.
