Smart meters use the design of electronic integrated circuits, so compared with inductive meters, smart meters have great advantages in terms of performance and operational functions.
1) Power consumption. Because smart meters use electronic component design, the power consumption of each meter is generally only about 0.6 to 0.7W. For multi-user centralized smart meters, the average power per household is smaller. Generally, the power consumption of each induction meter is about 1.7W.
2) Accuracy. As far as the error range of the meter is concerned, the measurement error of the 2.0-level electronic watt-hour meter within the range of 5% to 400% of the calibration current is ±2%, and the current commonly used accuracy level is 1.0, with smaller errors. The error range of the induction meter is 0.86% to 5.7%, and due to the insurmountable defect of mechanical wear, the induction meter becomes slower and slower, and the final error becomes larger and larger. The State Grid has conducted spot checks on induction meters and found that more than 50% of induction meters have been used for 5 years, and the error exceeds the allowable range.
3) Overload and power frequency range. The overload multiple of a smart meter can generally reach 6 to 8 times, with a wide range. At present, 8 to 10 magnification meters are becoming the choice of more and more users, and some can even reach a wide range of 20 magnification. The operating frequency is also wider, ranging from 40 to 1000 Hz. However, the overload multiple of an induction meter is generally only 4 times, and the operating frequency range is only 45 to 55 Hz.
4) Function. As smart meters adopt electronic technology, they can be networked with computers through related communication protocols, and the hardware can be controlled and managed through programming software. Therefore, the smart meter not only has the characteristics of small size, but also has the functions of remote control, multiple tariffs, identification of vicious loads, anti-stealing, and prepaid electricity consumption. It can also meet the control functions by modifying different parameters in the control software. These functions are difficult or impossible for traditional induction meters.
