LEM Unveils First Wireless Electrical Sub-Metering Components

Predicting significant reductions in time, costs, and disruptions involved in deploying sub-metering installations, the Wi-LEM (Wireless Local Energy Meter) family consists of what are said to be the first wireless sub-metering components. For industrial and commercial applications, the components allow electricity consumption to be both monitored and reduced via Zigbee 802.15.4 wireless communication at 2.4 GHz. They employ split-core transducers that easily fit in cramped cabinets. The family consists of three components: energy meter node, mesh node, and mesh gate. The energy meter node is an assembly of one to three current transducers with a signal-processing module, which can be deployed anywhere in the power cabinet. A repeater linking various nodes, the mesh node enables wireless communication throughout a large installation while the mesh gate manages the mesh network and transmits data via a serial interface to a PC. A variety of energy meter nodes, all certified to IEC 62053 Active Energy Class 1 and Reactive Energy Class 3, are available for 120 and 240 Vac and can be configured for nominal currents from 5A to 100A. Mesh nodes can be added to the network without additional configuration or programming. The mesh gate stand-alone wireless network management gateway connects the transducer network to a PC via RS-232 or RS-485 interfaces with a MODBUS RTU protocol. Each gate allows monitors up to 240 energy meter nodes. LEM USA INC., Milwaukee, WI. (800) 236-5366.