Meter Testing Manual Overview
Meter Testing Manual Overview
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Content
Preface ......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Figures ......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Tables ........................................................................................................................................................... 5
1 Application Example ............................................................................................................................ 6
2 Theoretical Introduction to Energy Meters ........................................................................................ 7
3 Practical Example ................................................................................................................................. 9
3.1 Defining the Test Object .............................................................................................................. 11
3.1.1 Device Settings ............................................................................................................................... 11
3.1.2 Defining the Meter Parameters ....................................................................................................... 13
3.2 Hardware Configuration of the CMC Test Set ............................................................................. 14
3.2.1 Output Configuration for a three phase Meter ................................................................................. 15
3.2.2 Analog Outputs ............................................................................................................................... 16
3.2.3 Binary/Analog Inputs ....................................................................................................................... 16
3.2.4 Binary Outputs, DC Analog Inputs and Time Source ...................................................................... 17
3.2.5 Wiring of the Test Set ..................................................................................................................... 17
3.3 Local Hardware Configuration ..................................................................................................... 18
3.4 Defining the Test Configuration ................................................................................................... 18
3.4.1 General Approach ........................................................................................................................... 18
3.4.2 Load test under reference conditions .............................................................................................. 20
3.4.3 Type test with current variations ..................................................................................................... 24
3.4.4 Type test with unbalanced load ...................................................................................................... 27
3.4.5 Configuring test report .................................................................................................................... 30
4 Running the test ................................................................................................................................. 31
Support....................................................................................................................................................... 34
Please use this note only in combination with the related product manual which contains several important safety
instructions. The user is responsible for every application that makes use of an OMICRON product.
Requirements: Test Universe 3.0; Meter Module and Control Center licenses.
Figures
Figure 1: Energy meter connection for the application example........................................................................6
Figure 2: Typical accuracy of the CMC 256 plus ...............................................................................................7
Figure 3: OMICRON scanning heads ................................................................................................................8
Figure 4: How to open a Meter test Module .....................................................................................................10
Figure 5: Test object configuration ...................................................................................................................11
Figure 6: Device settings window ....................................................................................................................12
Figure 7: Device settings window ....................................................................................................................13
Figure 8: Open General Hardware configuration .............................................................................................14
Figure 9: Hardware configuration tab...............................................................................................................15
Figure 10: Analog outputs configuration ..........................................................................................................16
Figure 11: Binary inputs configuration .............................................................................................................16
Figure 12: Hardware configuration not used tabs ............................................................................................17
Figure 13: Wiring: Voltage and Current supply front panel to the Energy Meter .............................................17
Figure 14: Wiring: Scanning Head to back panel External Interface ...............................................................18
Figure 15: Local hardware configuration access .............................................................................................18
Figure 16: General test scheme. ......................................................................................................................19
Figure 17: Meter module general view.............................................................................................................19
Figure 18: Rename the module .......................................................................................................................20
Figure 19: Settings tab .....................................................................................................................................21
Figure 20: Test tab ...........................................................................................................................................22
Figure 21: Test points for load test under reference conditions active and reactive power ............................23
Figure 22: Type test with current variations test points ...................................................................................26
Figure 23: Meter detailed view. Unbalanced currents and voltages ................................................................28
Figure 24: Test points with unbalanced current ...............................................................................................29
Figure 25: Test report configuration window ....................................................................................................30
Figure 26: Staring the test ................................................................................................................................31
Figure 27: Test Information ..............................................................................................................................31
Figure 28: Running the test ..............................................................................................................................32
Figure 29: Final Report view ............................................................................................................................33
ENERGY METER
For the present example we will test the meter Landis & Gyr ZMD410CT. This meter is class 1; the same
example could be applied to a class 0.5S or class 0.2S. Tolerances may change for both cases, but the
CMC256 plus is accurate enough to comply with it.
The summary of the test parameters for this example are the following:
For this example the second method is used and the CMC256plus will be used as the power injector. Within
this method there are three ways to perform the test;
The sources of the CMC 256plus are the reference. Due to the high precision of the CMC 256plus
this is the recommended method. The CMC 256plus may be considered as class 0.05 % standard
reference.
The CMC 256plus is used as signal source and in addition a standard meter (class 0.02 %) is used
as reference on-site.
The CMC 256plus is used as reference but has been calibrated prior to the test against a
comparator, with this method error calculation compensation factors are applied. Onsite no
reference device is used.
Error (rel.)
guar.
typ.
guar.
Active power
For testing purpose energy meters usually provide information on the measured energy by means of LED
pulses or a rotating disk; the number of pulses, respectively rotations, is proportional to a specific amount of
measured power.
The output pulses of the energy meter, respectively the number of disk rotations, are sensed by a scanning
head. There are different types of scanning heads. OMICRON provides three different models which are
specific for different kind of meters:
SEM 2 contains the photoelectric scanning head TK 326 which is suitable for scanning of all known
rotor marks of Ferraris meters and for scanning of optical pulse outputs of electronic meters up to
the infrared wavelength range.
SEM 3 contains the photoelectric scanning head SH 2015 to detect pulses from electronic meters.
This scanning head provides a ring magnet to attach the unit to solid-sate meters.
The scanning head transfers the pulses to the CMC256 plus. The Meter module within Test Universe
software calculates the error automatically.
Different kinds of tests are available in order to obtain the meter error or check other meter features:
Load test; this test obtains as result the meter error. When using the CMC256 plus as reference, the error is
calculated as follows
Where; E is the energy registered on the test object or in the CMC respectively.
When using a reference meter, the error is calculated in the same way but referring to the energy registered
by the reference meter instead of the CMC.
Injection test; this test provides no result it is used just for quick check or definition and injection of load
profiles without pulse feedback.
No-load test; this test is specifically for rotating disk meters and it evaluates the meter as started or not
started.
Creep test; this test is also specifically for rotating disk meters and evaluates if the meter has started or not
started under a certain low load (expressed in % of Inominal).
3 Practical Example
The Meter test module is part of the Measurement package and Universal package of the OMICRON Test
Universe family of test modules. The Meter module could also be added on its own to any other T.U.
package. It is a module used to test electrical and mechanical energy meters of various types with a meter
class of up to 0.2S. The user must bear in mind that an appropriately accurate CMC test set must be used to
achieve a reliable test result. For class 0.5 and 0.2 it is highly recommended to use a CMC256plus.
Meter supports the testing of electrical and mechanical AC meters of the following types:
Watt-hours (Wh)
var-hours (varh) [var = abbreviation of Voltampere-reéactif]
There are some other type of meters which are rarely used like, VA-hours (VAh), V-hours (Vh), V2-hours
(V2h) ,I-hours (Ih),I2-hours (I2h),Q-hours (Qh). The test of these meters is also supported by Meter module.
The test module can be found on the Start Page of the OMICRON Test Universe. It can also be inserted into
an OCC File (Control Center document).
For this example an OCC File has been prepared in order to perform more than one test to the same device.
This OCC File allows the automation of all the processes.
When settings are done in the OCC file, the settings are applied to all the test modules introduced under this
object, in some cases it will be necessary to introduce another test object in the OCC file in order to change
some parameters, for instance in Meter module when active and reactive power is tested.
Note: The nominal values for primary and secondary must be introduced. The parameters V max and
I max limit the output of the currents and voltages to prevent damage to the device under test.
These values must be adapted to the respective Hardware Configuration when connecting the
outputs in parallel or when using an amplifier. The user should consult the manual of the device
under test to make sure that its input rating will not be exceeded.
3
4
3
2
2
5 6
4
Note: When working with OCC file this function is not available until a Meter test module is inserted.
Note: Meter tests usually require energy injection during a long period. The Compliance Voltage box
allows the test set to supply a lower power level, setting the level to 0% (low) the test set will not
reach high temperature and will not stop due to overheating. When long duration tests are
performed, it is important to consider the appropriate duty cycle setting. The burden of most
meters is low and therefor the duty cycle setting must be low.
For this test the front panel binary inputs are not used, but the rear panel external interface is used to
connect the scanning head (External interface pin 1 or 2 which correspond to binary input 11 and 12
respectively) they can be used up to a 100 kHz pulse rate.
Binary outputs are not used. Counter 1 must be selected as Common. In this example we are not using a
Reference Meter so Counter 2 box must be unchecked.
Figure 13: Wiring: Voltage and Current supply front panel to the Energy Meter
This feature is only used when the hardware configuration is not the same for all the test modules, or when
more than one kind of test module is used. For the target example this option is not needed because the
hardware configuration does not change.
> Load test under reference conditions: This test is done to verify the accuracy of the meter when
working in usual conditions. The error must be according to the class.
> Type test with current variations: According to IEC 62053-22, table 4. The meter must be tested with
different current loads and the error must be under the limits specified in the standard.
> Type test with unbalanced load: According to IEC 62053-22, table 4. The meter must be tested with
load only in one current phase and reference voltage in the three phases. The error must be under the
limits specified in the standard.
To configure a test scheme as the previous shown. Each module embedded in the OCC file must be
inserted and configured independently. After inserting a module it will automatically open. The following
figure shows the general meter module interface.
4
1
2
4 5
1 2
7
3
6
10
8
When testing a multifunctional meter, the test can be configured in this tab for each different quantity to
measure, just switching to the correspondent tab in the table.
1. Test Mode; chose the test to perform. For this example a Load test will be done
2. Current waveform; it is possible to supply a sinusoidal wave, or waves with harmonic superimposed or
DC superimposed just clicking the option and introducing the desired values
3. Balanced 3-Phase system; the parameters to supply must be set here. Voltage; it is possible to
introduce L-L or L-N, the other value will be automatically set. Frequency and current must also be set.
Power factor and cos(φ) inductive or capacitive are also automatically set when setting one of them.
4. Nominal value; these are the test conditions, a number of pulses to be detected or the power supplied to
the device or the time of the test are set and the other two variables are set automatically. When power or
time is introduced and the number of pulses is not an integer number they will be automatically calculated
and changed to the immediate superior integer number of pulses.
5. Actual values; this is to display the data measured by the CMC during the test.
6. Tolerance; this is the device tolerance according to the class and the standard IEC 62053 or to the
manufacturer specification. This value is used to assess the test.
7. Supplied quantity; this box cannot be modified it is automatically calculated with current and voltage.
8. Test runs; is the number of times the test will run. The settling time will not be repeated for each test run,
it only applies to the first run. If the number of test runs is greater than one in addition to the error also the
standard deviation will be indicated for each test line.
9. If a pause before a test line starts is needed a Trigger with a message or indication for the tester, it can
be introduced checking the Pause Test box and inserting the desired message clicking in the Define
Trigger button. It is useful if the test requires any hardware change (i.e. changing the scanning heads
position)
10. Once the test is defined clicking the Add button, a line will be appended to the test table. To modify an
added line just double click the line and the Update button will be enabled. Modify the data and press this
button.
Figure 21: Test points for load test under reference conditions active and reactive power
Table 2: Maximal errors for class 0.2 and class 0.5 meters with variable current
Table 3: Maximal errors for class 1 and class 2 meters with variable current
According to this table and for a nominal current of 5 A, a number of representative test points have been
chosen. These testing points are introduced in the Test Module with the same procedure as the previous
step.
1. Insert parameter values in the Test tab
2. Press Add button to add the line to the test
Table 4: Test points for current variation for a meter with nominal current of 5 A and class 1
Table 5: Maximal errors for class 0.2 and class 0.5 meters with unbalanced load
Table 6: Maximal errors for class 1 and class 2 meters with unbalanced load
To configure the current parameter the Detail View is used. In the detail view it is possible to set different
currents and voltages for each of the three phases, just by introducing the desired values of magnitude and
phase in the appropriate box.
For the target example the test configuration process is the similar to previous steps; the difference is that
current must be set in the Detail View for each line.
The chosen points for a meter with nominal current of 5 A and Class 1, are summarized in the following
table:
1. Introduce current values in the Detail View; in the Test View will appear varied in the current box.
2. Introduce power factor, tolerance and pulses in the Test tab from Test View
3. Press Add button to insert the test line in the table.
When the test starts a window will display the Test process information will appear:
The test will continue automatically and assessment will also be done automatically for each test step. Once
the test starts it is possible to stop it just pressing the Stop button, it is also possible to pause it and
afterwards continue with the Pause and Start/Continue buttons. Unless any of this buttons are pressed, the
test will continue until the next Pause point. At this point, the message previously defined in the trigger will
appear to indicate the operator how to proceed with the following tests. Once the test is completed, the
report will be automatically generated.
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