MCUs Reduce Metering System Costs

Texas Instruments’ (TI) 16-MHz MSP430F47x4 ultra-low power microcontrollers (MCU) are designed for one- and multi-phase metering, and high levels of integration enable a significant reduction in system components. The F47x4 devices integrate up to four individual 16-bit sigma-delta ADCs, a 32-bit x 32-bit hardware multiplier, a 160-segment LCD driver with contrast control, up to 60 kBytes of flash memory and a real-time clock

The F47x4 series of MCUs also feature several low-power modes, allowing the meter to sleep with almost no power drain between readings. Standby power consumption is as low as 1.5 μA. The MSP430F47x4 series of MCUs will be available for sampling in June. Pricing wll start at $7.50 for 1000 pieces. TI’s utility metering portfolio also includes devices targeted at water and gas metering, as well as power line communications (PLC) and radio frequency (RF) interfaces for automated meter reading (AMR). For more information, visit www.ti.com/430metering.