When you google Lorawan energy meter/Lorawan electricity meter/Lorawan power meter, you will see a lot of choices, are they all picky, this article will take you to see what the difference is between so many lorawan smart meters.
1. The difference between single and three-phase and installation methods
At present, the single-phase smart meter bands on the market are Lorawan communication, mainly IVY METERING E*stron and Greenpal*,
Three-phase CT meters mainly include E*stron, C*T, Acr*l, Kho*p. Of course, the examples we are here are din rail meters (which are smaller and easier to install than hanging meters), but if you need a triangle/suspension/wall mounted meter, there are other options.
2. Current range, voltage difference
At present, most of the single and three-phase Lorawan meters on the market are 60A, 80A, 100A, and CT connected type 3*1(6)A. In terms of voltage, some are 220V, 230V, 240V three-phase, and some are 3*220V/380V, 3*230V/400V, etc. It should be added here that there is no need to be nervous when you find that the current and voltage are inconsistent, and it is not very difficult to change the current and voltage.
3. Differences in the functions
3.1 Two-way or bidirectional measurement
The measurement parameters include voltage (V), current (A), frequency (Hz), power (kW / kVar / kVA). However, not all Lorawan electricity meters support bidirectional metering, i.e. import/export/total energy (kWh/kVarh)
3.2 Prepaid or Postpaid
Some are only postpaid models, and some are prepaid and postpaid can be switched, simply put, it is to let users make payment first and then use, or use the electricity first and pay later, or the administrator can switch settings.
3.3 Differences in communication functions
Some meters have both Lorawan and other communications, such as IVY meters with Lorawan wireless communication and TTL local communication, and some are Lorawan communication with RS485 local communication, and some are Lorawan + PLC + Wifi and other optional, of course, the more communication modules, the higher the cost.
3.4 Other Functional Differences
Because there are too many functional differences, we will not give examples one by one, such as whether the meter has a built-in relay breaker for remote on-off control, whether the meter has a multi-tariff function, whether the antenna of the Lorawan module is built-in or external, whether the antenna is a suction cup antenna or a glue stick antenna, and whether it supports a certain system platform.
If you want to reduce some functions, it is equivalent to changing the internal layout and the workload of developing new products is only a little less, and the same time and cost are very high. Therefore, it is best to do enough testing before buying in large quantities to make sure that there are only a few more features.
4. Price Difference & Main Influencing Factors
Single and three-phase: If there is little difference in function, appearance, and quality of internal components, the price of a 3-phase Lorawan power meter is generally about 2-3 times the price of a single-phase Lorawan power meter, and the volume is also (there are many more devices required inside)
Measurement range: If other functions are similar, the larger the range of the product, the more expensive it is, but it is not that the smaller the range, the cheaper, if you buy a CT connected type of 3*1 (6)A Lorawan meter, the additional cost will be incurred
Features: If you buy a meter that not only satisfies basic metering and Lorawan communication, but also provides a series of functions such as bidirectional metering, prepayment, other communication, remote control, multi-rate, etc.or you buy a 60A meter and use the other party's IOT system platform, which may be more expensive than using an 80A Lorawan energy meter and your own system.
5. Frequency band differences
Although there are many frequency bands of Lorawan, EU868 and EU433 are mainly European standards (South Africa and other countries are also adopts EU868), US915 is the United States, Mexico, Colombia and others, CN779 and CN470 are Chinese standards, AU915 is mainly Australian annotation, AS923 is mainly the standard of other Asian countries such as Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, KR923 is mainly South Korean standard, IN865 is mainly Indian standard, RU864 is mainly Russian standard. However, due to the different development rates of Lora and Lorawan technologies in different countries, and the different levels of acceptance by the Energy Agency, not every frequency band can become the mainstream of local smart meters, so they have become the choice in the IOT free market. At present, IVY Lorawan smart meters support EU868, US915 frequency bands and have obtained MID certification, and we are actively developing AS923 and RU864, if you have this need, please contact us to get samples for testing.
6. Certification differences
For Lorawan energy meter manufacturers in China, R&D and production may be produced in accordance with GB national standards and IEC standards, or they may be designed and developed in accordance with ANSI standards in combination with a customer's requirements. According to this standard, research and development can only meet this standard (factory test report). If you want to be able to meet a certain certification, you still need to rely on the test report and certification of the third-party laboratory. For example, our Lorawan electricity meter is made in accordance with EN IEC 62052-11:2021, EN 50470-3:2022 which was certified by SGS lab.
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