Course Title: 19EEE343-

EECE3061 Electrical Measurements

Topic for the class: Single phase energy meters

Dr. T Padmavathi
Asst Professor
Department of Electrical, Electronics and Communication
Engineering
GITAM Institute of Technology (GIT)
Visakhapatnam – 530045
Email: [email protected]

Department of EECE, GIT Course Code and Course

18 August 2022 1
Title:19EEE343 EM
• An instrument that is used to measure either
quantity of or energy, over a period
is known as energy meter or watt-hour meter.
• Energy is the total power delivered or
consumed over an interval of time
• The commercial unit of electrical energy is
kilowatt hour (KWh).
• For measurement of energy in a.c. circuit, the meter
used is based on “electro-magnetic induction”
principle. They are known as induction type
instruments.
• The measurement of energy is based on the
induction principle is particularly suitable for
industrial or domestic meters on the account of
lightness and robustness of the rotating element.
• Moreover, because of smallness of the variations of voltage
and frequency in supply voltage, the accuracy of the
induction meter is unaffected by such variations.
• If the waveform of the supply is badly distorted, the
accuracy, however, is affected.
• Basically, the induction energy meter may be derived from
the induction watt-meter by substituting for the spring
control and pointer an eddy current brake and a counting
train, respectively.
• For the meter to read correctly, the speed of the moving
system must be proportional to the power in the circuit in
which the meter is connected.
• Induction type energy meter essentially
consists of following components

➢Driving system
➢Moving system
➢Braking system
➢Registering system
• Consists of two electromagnets,
called “shunt” magnet and
“series” magnet, of laminated
construction.

• A coil having large number of

turns of fine wire is wound on
the middle limb of the shunt
magnet. This coil is known as
“pressure or voltage” coil and is
connected across the supply
mains.
• This voltage coil has many
turns and is arranged to be
as highly inductive as
possible.
• In other words, the voltage
coil produces a high ratio of
inductance to resistance.
• This causes the current, and
therefore the flux, to lag the
supply voltage by nearly 90 ̊
• An adjustable copper shading
rings are provided on the central
limb of the shunt magnet to make
the phase angle displacement
between magnetic field set up by
shunt magnet and supply voltage
is approximately 90 ̊

• The copper shading bands are

also called the power factor
compensator or compensating
loop.
• The series electromagnet is
energized by a coil, known as
“current” coil which is connected in
series with the load so that it carry
the load current.

• The flux produced by this magnet is

proportional to, and in phase with
the load current.
• Consists of a light rotating
aluminium disk mounted on a
vertical spindle or shaft.
• The shaft that supports the
aluminium disk is connected by
a gear arrangement to the clock
mechanism on the front of the
meter to provide information
that consumed energy by the
load.
• The time varying (sinusoidal)
fluxes produced by shunt and
series magnet induce eddy
currents in the aluminium disc.
• The interaction between these
two magnetic fields and eddy
currents set up a driving torque
in the disc.
• The number of rotations of
the disk is therefore
proportional to the energy
consumed by the load in a
certain time interval and is
commonly measured in
killowatt-hours (KWH).
• Damping of the disk is provided by a
small permanent magnet, located
diametrically opposite to the a.c
magnets.
• The disk passes between the
magnet gaps.
• The movement of rotating disc
through the magnetic field crossing
the air gap sets up eddy currents in
the disc that reacts with the
magnetic field and exerts a braking
torque.
• By changing the position of the
brake magnet or diverting some
of the flux there form, the speed
of the rotating disc can be
controlled.
• It essentially consists of gear train,
driven either by worm or pinion gear on
the disc shaft, which turns pointers that
indicate on dials the number of times
the disc has turned.

• The energy meter thus determines and

adds together or integrates all the
instantaneous power values so that total
energy used over a period is thus known.
• Therefore, this type of meter is also
called an “integrating” meter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SZDHgrysv8
Gears

disc
1. Current coil
and
magnetic
circuit
2. Voltage coil
and
magnetic
circuit
3. Rotating
disk
4. Disk axis
5. Permanent
magnet
6. Spindle
7. Display
 Working
• The energy meter has the aluminium disc
whose rotation determines the power
consumption of the load.
• The disc is placed between the air gap of
the series and shunt electromagnet.
• The shunt magnet has the pressure coil, and
the series magnet has the current coil.
• The pressure coil creates the magnetic field
because of the supply voltage, and the
current coil produces it because of the
current.
 Working
• The field induces by the voltage coil is lagging by 90º
on the magnetic field of the current coil because of
which eddy current induced in the disc.
• The interaction of the eddy current and the magnetic
field causes torque, which exerts a force on the disc.
Thus, the disc starts rotating.
• The force on the disc is proportional to the current
and voltage of the coil.
• The permanent magnet controls their rotation.
• The permanent magnet opposes the movement of the
disc and equalises it on the power consumption.
• The cyclometer counts the rotation of the disc.
SPEED ERROR:
➢ Due to the incorrect position of the brake magnet, the
braking torque is not correctly developed.
➢ This can be tested when meter runs at its full load current
alternatively on loads of unity power factor and a low lagging
power factor.
➢ The speed can be adjusted to the correct value by varying
the position of the braking magnet towards the centre of the
disc or away from the centre and the shielding loop.
➢ If the meter runs fast on inductive load and correctly on
non-inductive load, the shielding loop must be moved
towards the disc. On the other hand, if the meter runs slow
on non-inductive load, the brake magnet must be moved
towards the center of the disc.
METER PHASE ERROR
➢ An error due to incorrect adjustment of the
position of shading band results an incorrect
phase displacement between the magnetic flux
and the supply voltage (not in quadrature).
➢ This is tested with 0.5 p.f. load at the rated load
condition.
➢ By adjusting the position of the copper shading
band in the central limb of the shunt magnet this
error can be eliminated.
CREEP
➢ In some meters a slow but continuous rotation is seen when
pressure coil is excited but with no load current flowing.
➢ This slow revolution records some energy. This is called the
creep error.
This slow motion may be due to
oincorrect friction compensation
ostray magnetic field
oover voltage across the voltage coil
➢ This can be eliminated by drilling two holes or slots in the disc
on opposite side of the spindle.
➢ When one of the holes comes under the poles of shunt
magnet, the rotation being thus limited.
• In some cases, a small piece of iron tongue or
vane is fitted to the edge of the disc.
• When the position of the vane is adjacent to
the brake magnet, the attractive force
between the iron tongue or vane and brake
magnet is just sufficient to stop slow motion
of the disc with full shunt excitation and under
no load condition.
TEMPERATURE EFFECT
➢ Energy meters are almost inherently free from errors
due to temperature variations.
➢ Temperature affects both driving and braking torques
equally (with the increase in temperature the
resistance of the induced-current path in the disc is
also increases) and so produces negligible error.
➢ A flux level in the brake magnet decreases with
increase in temperature and introduces a small error in
the meter readings.
➢ This error is frequently taken as negligible, but in
modern energy meters compensation is adopted in the
form of flux divider on the break magnet.
• Energy meter constant K is defined as
• K=No. of revolutions/kwh
• In commercial meters the speed of the disc is
of the order of 1800 revolutions per hour at
full load
Advantages & Disadvantages