The communication energy meter is based on the energy metering and adds a communication function, which expands the application space of the energy meter. It provides basic data and management control channels to improve the quality of electricity, reduce operational costs, and facilitate electricity consumption.

The benefits of the communication energy meter are mainly reflected in the following aspects:

1. Improve electricity efficiency:

The communication energy meter can monitor and record the use of electricity in real time, helping users and managers understand energy consumption and promptly identify and solve energy waste problems. This, in turn, improves electricity efficiency.

2. Ensure electrical safety:

The communication energy meter has functions such as overload protection, short circuit protection, and under voltage protection. These functions can timely detect abnormal situations in the circuit and send alarm events to the system platform through remote communication technology. This prevents electrical accidents and ensures electrical safety.

3. Reduce operational costs:

The communication energy meter can achieve remote management through remote communication technology, facilitating real-time monitoring and management of energy use for managers. This improves management efficiency and reduces operational costs.

4. Promoting the development of new energy:

With the continuous development of new energy, the energy structure of the power system is also constantly changing. The smart energy meter can adapt to the development needs of new energy, realize the metering and control of new energy generation, and promote the development of new energy.

5. Convenient recharging method:

The smart energy meter can realize remote prepaid function, and remote recharging and electricity usage can be conducted through communication. Combined with mobile payment, the prepaid smart energy meter allows users to independently recharge electricity without being restricted by region. This saves the need for fixed sales outlets.

There are many communication methods that can be used for smart energy meters, such as RS485 energy meters, 4G energy meters, Wi-Fine energy meters, PLC energy meters, LoRa energy meters, Wi-Sun energy meters, Zigbee energy meters, NB-IoT energy meters, Bluetooth energy meters, and WiFi energy meters, etc. With the development of IoT communication technology, more IoT meters with different communication methods will be released. According to different application scenarios, suitable communication methods for energy meters can be selected for installation.

1. Residential users mainly use PLC, HPLC, 4G, WiFi, LoRa, and other communication energy meters. The residential user group is large, and the environment is the most complex. When using them, various communication methods are adopted according to the communication debugging situation to ensure the reliability of communication.

2. The power monitoring and management of buildings mainly use WiFi, RS485, and WiFi communication energy meters. When the wiring is convenient, RS485 energy meters are used. WiFi energy meters are used in environments with WiFi coverage. Wi-Fine energy meters use wireless communication and have a convenient installation process. The mesh networking method has strong reliability.

3. The application environment of photovoltaic power generation will affect the PLC communication. The main communication methods used are WiFi, LoRa, and 4G. Since the cost of 4G energy meters is high, Wi-Fine and LoRa energy meters are preferred. As long as the communication frequency meets the local wireless frequency management requirements, it is acceptable.

4. For the monitoring of electricity usage in equipment such as new energy charging piles and large equipment, RS485 energy meters are mainly used for power data interaction with the equipment. The Modbus energy meter protocol fully meets the requirements for equipment interaction.

The communication energy meter has brought huge benefits to power management and power applications. With the continuous development of applications such as smart homes and smart cities, the communication energy meter needs to support more smart devices. The stability of the communication method directly affects the data collection and transmission of the electricity meter, so it is necessary to choose a communication method with high stability. When choosing the communication method for an electricity meter, it is necessary to comprehensively consider factors such as application scenarios, data transmission speed, stability, scalability, and cost.

The equipment and maintenance costs for different communication methods vary. When choosing a communication method, it is necessary to comprehensively consider the cost factors in order to select the most suitable communication method.