Electricity meter facts for kids
An electricity meter (or energy meter) is a device that measures the amount of electricity used by a house or business. Measurements are usually taken in kilowatt hours (kWh).
Contents
History
Electricity meters became popular when more and more houses were connected to electricity in the 1880s. Instead of charging the homes based on how many electricity loads they had, charging on how much electricity they used became more accurate and fair.
Types of electricity meter
Electromechanical meters
This type electricity meter uses the force generated by current when passing through magnetic field to rotate a spinning disk inside the meter. The disk is then turn the number to indicate how much electricity has been used which is recorded by the meter.
Electronic meters
This type of electricity meter converts electricity directly with an analogue-to-digital converter inside a microprocessor to get the exact electricity usage reading.
Security
Electricity meters can easily be tampered with. This may allow the customers to use electricity for free. Tampering with electricity meters is illegal and can carry fines or legal actions.
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
