I'm building a automated billing system for a building with about 60 tenants/meters. I need to read the energy usage [kWh] from meters, bill the users and turn off their electricity if they don't pay the bill in time.
I want to keep it cheap and simple and communicate with the meters over a simple local bus system (I'd prefer RS485 but others possible). The meters are all close together and if the bus system supports daisy chaining, wiring is easy.
I will buy the meters and can chose which ones. But where I live there are not too many options readily available. So far I've looked at Hexing, Honeywell and Landis+Gyr. What should I consider when choosing a meter? Support from the suppliers seems bad in all cases and documentation hard/impossible to get. They can't even tell me if I can turn off power using a command sent over the bus.
Are there any brands / models you know this is possible with?
How do I turn off the contactor/switch in the meter? What authentication level do I need? Is there a risk that I will need some passwords/codes for the meters I buy and not get them?
The only information I've found, which might refer to what I want to do was in the DLMS "blue book" (short version):
Disconnect control (class_id = 70, version = 0)
Am I on the right track here?
You can use daisy chaining If you are using RS-485, but all the meter models don't support RS-485 and/or daisy chaining. You need to check that first. Support from the meter manufacturers is usually awful even if you have lots of meters. :-(
Your meter model should support Disconnect Control. You can close the meter using Disconnect control. You can use the disconnect control with High authentication level. Passwords are usually defined on the meter documentation.
Hi, You can use daisy…
Hi,
You can use daisy chaining If you are using RS-485, but all the meter models don't support RS-485 and/or daisy chaining. You need to check that first. Support from the meter manufacturers is usually awful even if you have lots of meters. :-(
Your meter model should support Disconnect Control. You can close the meter using Disconnect control. You can use the disconnect control with High authentication level. Passwords are usually defined on the meter documentation.
https://www.gurux.fi/Gurux.DLMS.Objects.GXDLMSDisconnectControl
BR,
Mikko