Electricity meter facts for kids
An electricity meter is a special device that measures how much electricity a house or business uses. It's also called an energy meter. These meters usually measure electricity in units called kilowatt-hours (kWh). This helps electricity companies know how much to charge.
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The Story of Electricity Meters
Electricity meters became very common in the 1880s. This was when many homes started getting connected to electricity. Before meters, people were charged based on how many electrical things they had. But using a meter to charge based on actual electricity use was much fairer and more accurate.
How Electricity Meters Work
There are two main types of electricity meters:
Electromechanical Meters
This older type of meter uses a spinning disk inside. When electricity flows through the meter, it creates a magnetic field. This field makes the disk spin. The faster the disk spins, the more electricity is being used. The disk then turns numbers on a display, showing how much electricity has been used.
Electronic Meters
Electronic meters are more modern. They use special computer chips, like a microprocessor, to measure electricity. An analogue-to-digital converter inside the meter changes the electricity signal into digital information. This allows the meter to get a very exact reading of how much electricity is being used.
Keeping Meters Safe
Electricity meters are important for tracking energy use. Sometimes, people try to tamper with meters to get free electricity. However, changing or messing with an electricity meter is against the law. It can lead to big fines or other legal trouble.
Images for kids
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North American domestic analog electricity meter.
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Electricity meter with transparent plastic case (Israel)
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North American domestic electronic electricity meter
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An Aron type DC electricity meter showing that the calibration was in charge consumed rather than energy
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A 'Reason' meter
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Panel-mounted solid state electricity meter, connected to a 2 MVA electricity substation. Remote current and voltage sensors can be read and programmed remotely by modem and locally by infrared. The circle with two dots is the infrared port. Tamper-evident seals can be seen
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Mechanism of electromechanical induction meter. 1: Voltage coil: many turns of fine wire encased in plastic, connected in parallel with load. 2: Current coil: three turns of thick wire, connected in series with load. 3: Stator: concentrates and confines magnetic field. 4: Aluminum rotor disc. 5: rotor brake magnets. 6: spindle with worm gear. 7: display dials: the 1/10, 10 and 1000 dials rotate clockwise while the 1, 100 and 10000 dials rotate counterclockwise
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Three-phase electromechanical induction meter, metering 100 A 240/415 V supply. Horizontal aluminium rotor disc is visible in centre of meter
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Solid state Danish-made electricity meter used in a home in the Netherlands
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Itron OpenWay wattmeter with two-way communications for remote reading, in use by DTE Energy
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One model of plug-in electricity meter, used to measure consumption of an individual appliance.
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Economy 7 Meter and Teleswitcher
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Prepayment meter and magnetic stripe tokens, from a rented accommodation in the UK. The button labelled A displays information and statistics such as current tariff and remaining credit. The button labelled B activates a small amount of emergency credit should the customer run out
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A prepayment key
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Current transformers used as part of metering equipment for three-phase 400 A electricity supply. The fourth neutral wire does not require a current transformer because current cannot flow in the neutral without also flowing in metered phase wires. (Blondel's theorem)
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Electricity meters placed outside the homes of residents in a common place, which is accessible only for the department staff and concerned residents
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A Duke Energy technician removes the tamper-proof seal from an electricity meter at a residence in Durham, North Carolina
See also
In Spanish: Vatihorímetro para niños
