What are the differences between retrofitting smart meters and traditional meters?

The renovated smart meter has significant differences from traditional meters in terms of functionality, performance, and usage, as follows:

Functional differences

Traditional electricity meters: only have basic energy metering functions, used to record the amount of electricity consumed by users, cannot distinguish the electricity consumption data of different periods or circuits, and lack status monitoring and anti-theft capabilities.

Smart meter: On the basis of metering functions, it adds bidirectional metering (supporting forward and reverse active and reactive power, as well as peak and valley metering), real-time monitoring (parameters such as voltage, current, power factor, etc.), remote meter reading and control, anti-theft (identifying behaviors such as opening covers and short circuits), abnormal warning (such as overload and leakage), and other functions. Some smart meters also support distributed energy access (such as household photovoltaic surplus electricity grid connection), adapting to new energy scenarios.

performance difference

Traditional electric meters use mechanical measurement methods and rely on electromagnetic induction to drive aluminum turntables. They are greatly affected by environmental temperature, magnetic field interference, or component wear, and their accuracy decreases after long-term use (with an error range of ± 2% to ± 5%).

Smart meter: Adopting fully electronic metering technology, data is processed through high-precision chips and microprocessors, and the error can be controlled within ± 0.5%, even up to ± 0.2%, without being affected by mechanical wear and tear, resulting in higher stability. It has stronger anti-interference ability and can ensure data accuracy.

Differences in usage methods

Traditional electricity meters: relying on manual meter reading, the process is cumbersome and prone to errors; Users are unable to directly query meter data and need to obtain information through property management or power companies.

Smart meter: supports remote meter reading, and data is uploaded in real-time to the management platform through wireless communication technologies (such as GPRS, Wi Fi, NB IoT) to improve data collection efficiency and accuracy; Users can check their electricity consumption, balance, and historical consumption records at any time through mobile apps, computers, and other devices, and support online recharging and automatic settlement to avoid power outages due to overdue payments.

Differences in management efficiency

Traditional electricity meters: lack centralized management capabilities, commercial buildings or factories need to install multiple electricity meters to calculate sub item energy consumption, which is costly and complex to manage.

Smart electricity meter: supports sub item measurement and centralized management, and can simultaneously monitor multiple power consumption circuits through extended modules or multi circuit design, meeting the needs of refined energy consumption analysis; Its data can be used in energy management systems to help users analyze electricity consumption patterns, develop energy-saving strategies, and reduce operating costs.

Difference between safety and economy

Traditional electric meters: unable to warn of safety hazards such as line overload and leakage, which can easily lead to electrical accidents; The weak anti electricity theft function can easily cause waste of power resources or economic losses.

Smart electric meter: Equipped with a built-in status monitoring sensor, it immediately sends warning information when abnormalities are detected, reducing the risk of accidents; The anti electricity theft function is complete, which can identify electricity theft behavior and record event logs, providing a basis for damage recovery; Support flexible billing strategies (such as tiered pricing and peak valley pricing) to help users optimize their electricity costs.