Integrated semiconductor solutions for metering and telemetering applications

The conventional Ferraris electricity wheel meter has served the industry well over many decades as a basic instrument for measuring domestic power and is likely to survive for a good many more. However, multi tariffing systems to facilitate efficient load management will require the use of sophisticated semiconductor based solutions. As cost reduction considerations continue to drive system integration, the gradual replacement of the mechanical Ferraris wheel function by semiconductor devices is inevitable. The author briefly describes some design approaches based on microcomputers, and digital and linear ASIC technologies for the integration of such multifunction electricity measurement and telemetering systems