Electricity meter
An electricity meter (or energy meter) is a device that measures the amount of electricity used by a house or business. Measurements are usually taken in kilowatt hours (kWh).
History
Electricity meters became popular when more and more houses were connected to electricity in the 1880s. Instead of charging the homes based on how many electricity loads they had, charging on how much electricity they used became more accurate and fair.
Types of electricity meter
Electromechanical meters
This type electricity meter uses the force generated by current when passing through magnetic field to rotate a spinning disk inside the meter. The disk is then turn the number to indicate how much electricity has been used which is recorded by the meter.
Electronic meters
This type of electricity meter converts electricity directly with an analogue-to-digital converter inside a microprocessor to get the exact electricity usage reading.
Security
Electricity meters can easily be tampered with. This may allow the customers to use electricity for free. Tampering with electricity meters is illegal and can carry fines or legal actions.
