Electricity Monitoring - Which Photodiode?

**chris_j_hunter** · 20 September 2013, 02:16 PM

we're installing ours now - we had to get the meter cupboard out of the wall, to get a route for the cable ...

also looks like the sensor will have to be removed from time to time, too - when the meter-man from the electric company comes to read the meter using a sensor that uses the photodiodes (and the bar-code) ... which maybe explains the rather heavy-duty self-adhesive pad that is used to attach it to the face of the meter ...

PS: no, not so sure about that - when mounted, the sensor leaves the left hand device exposed, so it depends on how it works, exactly ...

**Alexc** · 11 August 2015, 07:48 PM

Although an old thread, a useful one!

I have successfully connected up my electricity meter today using just a simple BPW85C. As the leads are fairly solid, they bend and stay where they are put, which has enabled me to do this:

Attached Files

image-2833330007.jpg (61.3 KB, 19 views)

**chris_j_hunter** · 12 August 2015, 02:43 PM

looks v.neat - presumably the sheething brings it to within the Reg's / gives adequate protection to the low voltage side of things ...

just a question, really !

**chris_j_hunter** · 3 May 2016, 12:16 PM

we followed Paul's route & it's still working fine ...

now, though, our supplier (e.on) is saying they want to install a new meter, a smart one ...

so, wondered if we should say yes, or stall them for as long as we can ... ie: will it bring problems ?

any experience / thoughts ?

**Karam** · 4 May 2016, 09:10 AM

If you mean in terms of interfacing to IDRATEK I guess you'll have to find out if the same optical indicator exists on the particular device, or better still you'd think that any new meter will have a direct electrical (SO) output, or maybe even indirect web API access (ha ha).

In terms of smart meters in general, unfortunately don't have experience beyond the kind of reports you read on the internet.

Electricity Monitoring - Which Photodiode?

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