Advanced Features, Low Cost Come To Electronic Energy Metering

Existing electronic solutions for metering energy should gain a measure of flexibility thanks to two novel power-meter ICs. Essentially analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) with integrated energy-measurement functions, Cirrus Logic's CS5461 and CS5462 power-meter ICs offer designers the choice of building energy-metering designs with more advanced features or lower cost.

Aimed at residential single-phase or industrial three-phase systems, the CS5461 will find homes in applications migrating from electromechanical to electronic metering to implement new or advanced features. In contrast, the CS5462 only targets residential single-phase applications where the IC can implement electronic energy meters that are less expensive than electromechanical meters (see the figure).

The CS5642 should find use in developing countries where some residents are being connected to a power grid for the first time. It reduces costs through a calibration technique that eliminates the need for external potentiometers or memory.

The CS5461 is offered as the successor to the company's CS5460A. The two devices have many features in common, but the new chip adds a temperature sensor, a temperature-compensated reference, voltage-sag detection, and high-frequency output. The CS5641 is initialized and fully functional upon reset.

Available in 24-pin SSOPs, the CS5461 and CS5462 cost $1.51 and $1.24, respectively, in quantities of 100,000.