I've just moved house and notice that the Siemans electricity meter has a red light wich is flashing slowly. Plus the LCD display is flashing between 8888 and the current reading. Does anyone know what this signifies?
The flashing red light indicates usage, and somewhere on the meter will probably be a reference to xxxx flashes per kWh
The 8888 is simply a test pattern to prove the meter has all the display segments working correctly.
The light flashes once for each 1W/hr consumed (ie 1000 flashes per kW/hr)
Shows that all the segments of the display are working and thus the numbers shown are correct. No confusion between say 8 and 0, or 7 and 1 etc.
On one of those Sky Three "law-and-order" type programmes 2 cops were hunting down a dodgy white van (permanantly borrowed from a rental fleet). Terraced houses, lots of cars parked, they had a look into the van and a cutain twitched in a nearby house. "Ello ello ello!" - they knock on the door. No answer. Looked through letterbox - smell of hash plantation! The two young lads leg it out of the back and are caught. One cop noticed the electricity meter was giving it all the 8s, flashing between the current reading - and he said it had been tampered with (obvious as the tails were linked to the incomers in a very dodgy way).
Get it looked at!
Hmmm which is the most likely : a) Test pattern to show that the display is correct. b) Copper that knows anything about electronic electricity meters.
No, I don't think so. See the reply from Colin Wilson.
On Mon, 18 Jun 2007 07:43:47 +0100 someone who may be The Wanderer wrote this:-
You mean the one where he typed, "The flashing red light indicates usage, and somewhere on the meter will probably be a reference to xxxx flashes per kWh"?
While it may or may not be 1000 flashes per unit, the light flashing certainly does indicate usage.
Err, yes, and my reference to CW's answer made it quite clear that I wasn't disputing that the light flashes to indicate usage.
What I was disputing was the statement that the light flashes once for every watthour. It is an erroneous statement that might mislead others. Or are you suggesting that we should collectively turn a blind eye to misinformation?
Has anybody made a counter that sees the flashes and data logs them off a usb port? Must be better than the clamp on things that are being shown on the news.
AJH
On Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:49:22 +0100 someone who may be The Wanderer wrote this:-
The meter in the office is labelled "1000 imp/kWh". I assume that "imp" stands for impulses, AKA flashes.
So everything's ok. Thanks very much for all the info.
And the one here at home is labelled 800 imp/kwh. Which proves my point that the earlier statement that the meter flashes once for every watthour consumed is misleading. It *may* do, but other calibrations exist.
Linux box I could leave running but....
AJH
Which requires a computer on 24/7 to tell you how much you're wasting by leaving things switched on 24/7.
Not a problem..I have several computers on 24/7...!
replying to The Wanderer, Grend wrote: Hi there It would seem to me that these meters are flashing their LED to indicate Watts and not Watt/hours. If my (1000imp) LED flashed 1000 times in an hour then that is indeed 1KW/hr but what if it takes 2 hours to flash 1000 times? or only 30 minutes? Is it just me or is everyone else wrong? G
It's my understanding that the LED blinks for every "unit" of energy passed, for some definition of "unit" (not necessarily 1kWh).
Its just you.
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