What are single-phase electricity meters and how to choose the right device?

From time to time, the owner of housing is faced with the issue of acquiring registration equipment. According to their testimonies, payments are made for the provided goods in the form of electricity, gas, heat and water.

Electricity supply of living quarters occurs on a single-phase scheme, it corresponds to the device of these devices, showing how much energy the tenants of the apartment or private house have consumed. It is measured in kilowatt-hours, which completely characterizes the essence of the goods for which payment is made. In kW, as everyone knows from the school course of physics, the power is measured, and in hours - the time, from which it follows that the greater the power consumed in a given real estate object, and the longer this happens, the more impressive is the sum of the "Total" column in the receipt.

It used to be easier

Previously, single-phase electricity meters were all the same, in black round ebonite casings. Only the current strength to which the device was designed could differ. The device had an internal mechanism with wheels on which figures stood. Each turn of the previous decimal sign caused a turn of the next one unit. The supply of these devices was borne by the enterprise, which provides the population with much-needed energy for normal life. From the old times, the expression "pay for light" remains, today in apartments electricity consumption occurs not only with light bulbs, but also with a variety of household appliances.

Apartment single-phase electricity meters record the consumption of only active energy consumed. This is also the result of a long-standing situation when only light bulbs and spiral reflectors were included in the sockets, in which the reactive component is absent, and the notorious "cosine phi" does not deviate from its unit value.

Eyes scatter

Today the situation is different. In the vastnesses of the former USSR household single-phase electricity meters are almost not produced, they are most often imported from neighboring countries, and the main producer of such equipment (and much more) is one people's republic with a very large population. In some cases, energy suppliers recommend the purchase of a sample of the accounting device, while they are usually guided not by the interests of the consumer, but by some other considerations, including the supplier's loyal attitude to the replacement of defective products, and Favorable for the seller price.

How to choose?

Single-phase electricity meters on the market are represented in a wide range, and those citizens who choose to purchase them independently face the need for a choice.

There are, for example, multi-tariff devices. This means that the account of consumed energy is conducted day and night in different ways. In some cities, in order to equalize daily consumption and reduce peak load in networks, they tend to encourage people to include heating (for example, "warm floors") only from evening to morning. Such sophisticated devices cost more than conventional single-phase electricity meters.

The price may depend on other parameters - for example, on the value of the maximum current consumed, measured in amperes. For a residential apartment usually enough 60 A, but it happens that the presence of an electric stove and a powerful heating system increases this parameter and up to 100 A.

There is one more important point - the information capabilities of the device. It can be on remote control directly to the energy supply company. While this innovation is not widespread, but it is to be expected that in the near future information on arrears for payment of gas, water and electricity will flow immediately to the servers of the enterprise that provides the corresponding service. Connecting a single-phase electricity meter to a single information system will greatly facilitate the payment process.

In the rest, the choice of a counter, like any other necessary thing, is motivated by the ratio of price and quality, as well as advice from friends and acquaintances.