Electricity meters - 5 things we need to know

 

Electricity meters - 5 things we need to know

Everyone has an electricity meter in their home. This is the appliance that records the amount of electricity consumed in a household.

You may be familiar with this device if you need to monitor and read it. Or you may not have come across your meter at all until now for a number of reasons, the most common of which is that someone checks it for you.

Whatever the reason, it will be helpful for you to learn more about this meter to save yourself headaches in the future, especially if your meter fails or does not read your electricity consumption properly.

At Elmark we want to provide you with more details about the operation of electric meters, how to read them, what failures can occur and some useful advice. See the 5 things you need to know about electricity meters.

1. Electricity meters - what they are and why we need them in our home

Generally speaking, an electricity meter is an appliance that measures the amount of electricity consumed and displays it in a convenient and comprehensible way. It uses a unit of measurement to record power consumption per unit of time, i.e. so-called kilowatt hours (kWh).

Without a meter in your home, you cannot get power unless, of course, you produce your own electricity, which is not very common practice.

In a normal situation, the meter is an appliance used by companies that supply your electricity to measure the amount of electricity you consume and to price it.

But it would be wrong to think that these companies alone benefit from an electricity meter in your home. The advantage for you is that you can monitor exactly how much electricity your household uses and whether your bills correspond to the amount of electricity consumed.

2. How to read an electricity meter

The most common practice in Bulgaria is for employees of electricity supply companies to record the amount consumed by reading electricity meters on the spot or through so-called 'smart' meters (we will explain these in more detail below).

In some special cases, your electricity supplier may ask you to provide the readings from your meter (this is uncommon in Bulgaria, but it does occur).

If this happens, you will need to quickly understand how an electric meter works and exactly how to read the data it displays so that you can provide your electricity supplier with accurate information.

The benefit for you in this case is that you can have complete confidence in all meter readings and it will be much harder for companies to cheat you with regard to payment.

3. Different types of electricity meter

Before mentioning possible electricity meter failures, we should first introduce you to the different types of meters.

The mechanical electricity meter is one of the most popular and the oldest version. It consists of a rotating aluminium disc mounted on a spindle located between two electromagnets.

The reading for this type of meter is obtained from the aluminium disc, which rotates at a speed that corresponds to the power consumed. This rotational speed is converted using gears and a mechanical counter. The latter consists of two laminated electromagnets made of shunt magnets and electrical steel.

Until the introduction of more advanced electronic meters, mechanical meters were the most common and widespread in Bulgaria.

Electronic meters are the next generation of meters and are much more reliable and accurate than their predecessors. The reason for this is very simple, i.e. the radically different recording method that uses a frequency and/or an integrated processor.

The latter is determined by the type of electronic meter: analogue or digital.

Analogue meters record the electricity consumed by converting the power to an impulse or proportional frequency. This frequency is converted to a reading by means of counters fitted in the meter.

Digital meters, in turn, use much more advanced technology to record the electricity consumed: a high-performance processor that directly measures power and converts it into data.

The latest version of this device is the so-called smart meter. There are still few of them in Bulgaria as they are not popular, but they are now finding their place on the market and becoming increasingly widespread in residential buildings.

Using advanced state-of-the-art metering technology, smart meters record the electric current consumed, process this information and send it to consumers and supplier companies.

These meters also allow remote control of electricity consumption. Another major benefit of this type of meter is that neither you nor your electricity supplier will have to check the meter on location, as this can be done remotely.

4. What to do if your meter does not read correctly

Serious discrepancies have occurred on more than one occasion in meter readings of electricity consumed in households in Bulgaria.

In the past (and still very often today), this has led to outrageous electricity bills, objections and even court cases. All sides have something to say about unfair electricity bills, but one thing is certain: in most cases, the main cause of these errors is the meter.

Like any technical device, the electricity meter also carries a risk of technical failure and errors and this is not necessarily due to human intervention.

If you have serious doubts that your meter may not read the electricity consumed by your household correctly, you should contact your electricity supplier and lodge a complaint.

In parallel, we at Elmark recommend that you consider buying a new meter to solve your problems once and for all. If you wish to do so you can check out our online store, where we offer great products for you.

5. Smart meters: what the future holds for us

The next natural step in recording consumed electricity is the deployment of smart technologies.

The trend towards more smart devices in homes is not new at all, but is gaining in popularity and smart systems are already being built into some residential buildings.

If you are looking for a new electricity meter, you should definitely consider purchasing a smart meter that will be much easier for you to read and monitor how much electricity your household consumes and what your current electricity bills are in real time.