Patent attributes
An electricity meter for monitoring electric power consumed from a service line is disclosed. The electricity meter includes a power consumption metering system for measuring the amount of power consumed from the service line, a peripheral device providing a non-critical function, a power converter, and a load management system. The metering system includes a controller and data storage for storing power consumption data. The power converter provides an unregulated voltage output at the terminals of a capacitor for powering the metering system. The load management system selectively couples and decouples the peripheral device from the power converter. The load management system senses the unregulated voltage to determine whether to couple or decouple the peripheral device. A load management system for an electricity meter and a method of managing the loads on the power system of an electricity meter are also disclosed.
