subject: Measuring Electrical Output With A Range Of Power Metering Solutions [print this page] The consumption of electricity is a major expense head in most households and with growing inflationary as well as other pressures; there is an urgent need to control it. Considering that its usage is necessary for the running of most modern devices, it is a mandatory expense and can only be brought under control through innovative means and prudent usage.
It is essential to understand that the flow of electricity as well as its quality can be hampered due to the inappropriate medium through which it flows. Electricity is billions of electrons that flow and follow a path like water and the wires used to transport electricity needs to be a good conductor for effective carriage of electricity. Wires that are coated with good insulating material ensure that safety is not compromised and there is no wastage of electricity as well. It is therefore advantageous to check the wiring used in your homes and get it rectified if needed so that you do not end up paying more for electricity that is not being utilised to the optimum.
If you wish to control something it is essential to be able to measure it. Electricity is no exception and power metering is one of the ways to accomplish this. The equipment used is the digital multimeter that is able to measure ohms, amps and volts. There are other multimeters which can measure temperature as well. Basically, units that combine the ammeter, ohmmeter and voltmeter are the ones that are most commonly used and since they are usually handheld, they can be used at home or outside to great effect.
They come in two types - the analog one which is rather old but still in use and has a needle that indicates the reading and the digital one which has an LCD or LED display. The digital ones are more accurate and are swiftly replacing the analog ones due to lower cost of making these units. They are pretty easy to source as well as operate with the more complicated ones generally used by the professionals.
Another method of power metering is by using secondary and prepaid meters. Property landlords and other let agents have found this particularly useful when they face the prospect of having to pay the utility bills due to the tenants defaulting on the same. They have also been able to reduce tenant churn. The other reason is that these units combine both metering as well as vending features and tenants can get credit tokens for usage.
They can also get additional credit through the use of the inbuilt card system. The only disadvantage is the possibility of tenants losing the card or forgetting to purchase additional credit prior to the current one getting consumed.
The use of prepaid meters along with the vending solution is a simple and very effective method of measuring electrical output. This has proved to be convenient for both the landlord as well as the tenant.
