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159 PDF
The None option is the default, which disables auto transfer. The Prompt option causes
EziView to prompt whenever the setup pages are opened while the meter is connected.
The prompt asks if the setup should be transferred from the meter to ensure that the
current meter setup is edited. EziView will also prompt when the OK or Apply buttons
are clicked on the setup pages to ask if the new setup should be written to the meter
immediately.
The Auto option performs a similar function, but performs the transfer without
prompting.
Copying Setup
EziView also provides tools to copy setup from one meter and transfer it to another.
This is useful where the setup for one meter needs to be copied to a number of other
meters. Select Edit→Copy Setup from the right-click menu (or Edit menu) of the meter
to copy setup from. A copy icon will appear next to the meter as a reminder which
meter is being copied from.
Now select the meter or meters to paste the setup to and select Edit→Paste Setup from
the right-click menu (or Edit menu). The following screen will be displayed (Figure
6-8), very similar to the synchronise setup dialog.
The source and destination meter are listed at the top of the dialog. If multiple
destination meters have been selected they will all be listed. Multiple meters may be
selected at a site by holding the control or shift key down while selecting, following
standard windows conventions.
The bottom part of the dialog selects what parts of the setup will be copied. Where the
box is unchecked, that part of the setup will remain unchanged. Where the box is
checked, the setup will be copied from the source meter to the destination meter. The
All and None button provide an easy way to select all boxes or clear all boxes.
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Miscellaneous
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This chapter covers the configuration parameters that do not fit into any of the other
chapters. This includes feature codes, extended feature codes and miscellaneous ID
strings.
Feature Codes
Feature codes provide a way of upgrading meter functionality at a later date. A feature
code consists of a string of 16 upper case characters. It will only work for the specific
meter that it was created for. The feature code unlocks a number of options – different
feature codes can unlock different combinations of options.
Miscellaneous 7-1
3. Enter the new feature code into the feature code field. Make sure that it is the
correct code for this meter.
5. The Feature Code Status section will update to show the new code and the features
enabled. If no features are enabled, check the spelling of the feature code for errors
and check that it is the correct feature code for the meter.
Feature Meaning
Single rate TOU Allows a single rate of TOU.
Two rate TOU Allows two rates of TOU.
Four rate TOU Allows four rates of TOU.
Eight rate TOU Allows eight rates of TOU.
Billing Resets Allows billing resets to occur.
Maximum Demand Enables maximum demand calculations.
Manual Output Control Allows outputs to be set manually (not just pulsing/time
sync).
4 Quadrants Enables full 4 quadrant measurements.
var and VA Measurements Enables var, varh, VA and VAh measurements.
Waveform Capture Allows waveforms to be captured and downloaded.
Extension Upload Allows new EziScript extensions to be written to the meter.
Enhanced Modem Allows the enhanced modem script to operate, which
supports turning off of modems.
Eziport Enables the Eziport.
• Table 7-1 Feature code features.
To see the list of available features, connect to the meter and go to the Screens→Online
Variables→Feature Code page.
To enter a new code, type it into the Feature Code field and click the set button. Check
it is for the right serial number if it has no effect. Where large number of codes are
required they may be supplied in a file. The Load From File button allows a file to be
selected which contains the extended feature codes.
The extended feature codes enabled in the meter are listed on the page. If a code is
enabled which your version of EziView does not understand, three question marks will
be displayed beside the extended feature number, but the feature is still enabled.
Miscellaneous 7-3
System Parameters
These settings do not change the meter’s operation. They simply allow names to be
applied to the meter for reference.
The following table (Table 7-2) lists suggested uses for these settings. All are character
strings.
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External Transformers
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This section is dedicated to configuring the meter for its voltage and current
connections.
In many applications external measurement transformers are used between the meter
and the system to be measured. The values at the input to the meter are defined as
secondary quantities and the values on the high voltage/current side of the measurement
transformers are defined as primary quantities. The meter allows the ratios of these VTs
and CTs external to the meter to be accounted for.
Changing the transformer ratios in a meter with existing data may have variable effects
on the data already stored. Much of the information recorded by the meter is effectively
in secondary quantities. Changing the transformer ratios affect how these stored values
are read out as primary values. This mainly affects the Time of Use system. The effect
on load surveys will depend on the survey (See Chapter 19 for more information).
Because of this it is strongly recommended that the Time of Use readings be cleared if
the transformer ratios are changed.
The meter also needs to know the nominal voltage and current at the meter terminals,
i.e. the secondary values. The meter uses these for the generation of alarms (see Chapter
15 for more information).
Finally the meter needs to know if it is connected in two element or three element mode
(See Chapter 2 for connection details). This is not automatically detected in order to
make the detection of alarm conditions more reliable.
3. Set the External CT ratio. This is the ratio of any external measurement CT.
Set to 1:1 if no external CTs are used, such as whole current meters.
4. Set the External VT ratio. This is the ratio of any external measurement VT.
Set to 1:1 if no external VTs are used.
The Measurement Method defines whether the energy values recorded by the meter are
limited to only the Fundamental Energy or the Total Energy including harmonics
measured by the meter.
Note that like all changes to the setup pages, these changes take effect when written to
the meter (see Chapter 6).
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LCD Display
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The LCD of the meter is for displaying information from the meter’s registers. The
LCD is a two line by 16 character display which can display any letter, number and a
variety of symbols. See the section “LCD/Select Button” on page 2-17 for information
on how to use the display.
The meter allows for up to 64 pages of display. Each page can display a single
register’s contents. How the register is displayed is controlled by a format for each
page.
The Digits parameter (for values 0 to 14) sets the length of the number, including a
minus sign if present, up to the decimal point (but not including the decimal point). If
the number is shorter than set by the parameter it is padded with spaces from the left. If
the 0 Fill parameter is set then the number is padded with zeros instead of spaces. This
option should not be used with numbers that may be negative. The zero fill option is
useful for duplicating the look of mechanical counters.
A Digits setting of 15 causes all digits of the number before the decimal place to be
displayed.
The Places parameter sets the number of digits to be shown after the decimal point. The
number is rounded to this precision. It may be set from 0 to 15. If set to 0 the decimal
point is not shown. Floating-point numbers have an infinite number of decimal places,
but not all digits are significant.
Units
The formatting also allows units to be specified. This is controlled by the Multiplier and
Units settings. Turning Units on enables the display of a unit after the number. The
meter knows the units of all registers.
The Multiplier parameter allows the number to be scaled. It only has an effect on
floating-point formats. A prefix is also added to the unit if displayed. Table 9-3 lists the
available multipliers.
Registers with a Unit of Q (Power Factor) display the absolute value of the number, then
indicate lead or lag as the unit. If no unit is shown the sign of the number indicates lead
and lag.
LCD Setup
The LCDScreens page in EziView (Figure 9-1) has the setup for the LCD pages. Each
line of the table is the setup for one page. The displays higher up the table are shown
before those shown further down.
1. Double click on the first blank register field of the table. This displays the register
selection screen (Figure 9-2).
If the register to display is known, it may be entered directly into the register field
without using the Register Selection Dialog. In this case go straight to step 4.
2. Select the register to display. As each entry is selected the options within that entry
are displayed in the next column to the right. When the register is completely
defined the Add and OK buttons will activate.
3. To add a series of registers to the list of screens click on the Add button. To add a
single register and return to the table click on the OK button.
4. To display leading zeros check the 0 Fill box. This only has an effect for floating
point registers. Digits must be less than 15 as well.
5. To limit the number of digits to the left of the decimal point set a number other than
15 in the Digits field. Set the Digits field to 15 to allow any number of digits. This
only has an effect for floating point registers.
6. Set the Place field to the number of digits required after the decimal point. This
only has an effect for floating point registers.
7. Set the Multiplier field to the desired unit multiplier. See Table 9-3 for a list of the
available options.
8. Check the Units field to display a unit after the value. If a multiplier has been
selected it is prefixed to the unit. The meter knows the units of all registers,
although not all registers have units.
9. Select the display set the register belongs to from the list in the Set field. Note that
set D cannot be reached from the Select button.
If the same register is displayed several times, the description from its first occurrence in
the list is used for all entries.
2. Delete the register number using delete or backspace so the field is blank.
2. Drag the screen to the new location. A highlighted line will show where the screen
will be inserted when the mouse button is released.
Set the Hold Time to the time in seconds to pause automatic display cycling when the
Select button is pushed. The range is 0 to 255 seconds.
Set the Display Revert field to a non zero number to ensure the display returns to a
known state after use. If the Select button has not been pressed for the set number of
minutes the display will revert to the default screen of display set A. The range is 1 to
255 minutes. A setting of zero disables display revert.
The backlight of the display is usually configured to light only when the meter is being
read. Set the Backlight On Time to the time in seconds (1 to 254) that the backlight
should remain on after the Select button is pressed. A setting of 0 disables the backlight.
A setting of 255 keeps the backlight on permanently.
Change the Contrast setting to adjust the contrast of the LCD. Adjustments of this
setting are not normally required, as this is set at the factory. Adjusting the contrast may
help visibility in some lighting environments.
Set the User Level to the user level that the meter will use to access the registers to
display on the LCD. A level of none prevents all access.
If a register is displayed as “Access Denied”, this is caused by the security level’s access
being insufficient to read the register. See Chapter 16 for more information.
The LCD Status window displays what is being shown on the LCD of the meter updated
in real time. The Sel button has the same effect as pushing the Select button on the
meter. The Set button is for changing display sets, having the same effect as holding
down the Select button on the meter.
Below this is listed information about the current display: what register is being shown,
its format and LCD number. Each of the programmed LCDs is numbered from 0 to 63.
The default LCD screen is numbered 64. The active display set is also shown, along
with the remaining freeze time (discussed later).
The LCD Setting section allows the display to be controlled directly, bypassing the
preprogrammed screens. The Register tab allows a register to be displayed with the
same sort of formatting controls used for programmed pages. The settings are updated
when <Enter> or the Set button is pressed.
The Number tab (Figure 9-4) allows the LCD to go straight to a programmed page using
its number from 0 to 63, or 64 for the default page. If the page is unused the message
“No Display Defined” is shown.
• Figure 9-5 EziView Online Variables LCD dialog, Display Set Tab.
The Display Set tab (Figure 9-5) allows the active display set to be changed. This is
where the meter can be changed to display set D, normally inaccessable.
The Screen tab is used to override what is shown on the LCD with a custom message.
The text to be displayed is entered into the edit field, then the Set button is pressed to
send the change. The text will be displayed for the Freeze time, set on the final tab.
The Freeze tab allows the LCD freeze time to be set. When the freeze time is set (in
seconds, 0 to 255) the Freeze counter will count back down to zero. During this time
updates to the display are frozen, stopping the display from changing. The freeze time
is set when the Set button is pressed, or the Set button on the Screen tab is pressed.
When the freeze counter reaches zero, normal updates of the LCD will resume.
Message Meaning
The top line shows “Reg: No register description was entered in setup.
XXXXXXXX” instead of a XXXXXXXX is the register number.
description.
The top line is blank. The register description has only spaces in it.
The bottom line shows The register could not be read. X gives the response
“Unreadable X”. code. Common codes are:
3: Register not found.
4: Access Denied for security reasons.
5: Read data too long (More than 60 bytes)
The bottom line shows The data type of the register to be displayed cannot be
“Undefined”. shown on the LCD. For example, a waveform.
The top line shows The register indicated cannot be found.
“XXXXXXXX: Undef”.
The top line shows The register indicated is a type ‘S’ register and cannot be
“XXXXXXXX: Spec”. displayed on the LCD.
The top line shows “Revert to This is the meter returning to the beginning of set after
set A” occasionally. the user specified revert time.
The display shows “No Display The display number has been set manually to a
Defined”. programmed page that is not used.
• Table 9-5 LCD unit examples.
A. There are no pages enabled in the current set. Try changing the set by holding
down the Select button for a second.
A. The line to show is longer than 16 characters so the meter is scrolling it to display
it. To avoid this try to format pages so that the bottom line is no more than 16
characters.
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Pulsing Outputs
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The pulsing outputs of the meter provide more functionality than simply an indication of
power usage. Among other things they also allow for a synchronising time pulse to be
generated or for various fixed output uses where the state of the output is used rather
than its pulse rate.
Output Hardware
EDMI Mk6 Genius Meter
The Mk6 Genius Meter has up to 9 outputs of various types.
There are two red LEDs on the meter face located just below the LCD. These would
generally be used to generate pulses for meter accuracy testing. They are labelled Pulse
1 and Pulse 2.
Up to 7 ouputs are available on the terminals under the terminal cover (Figure 10-1).
TB3 to TB9 may be outputs, depending on the exact meter type. These correspond to
outputs 1 to 7. TB3 is shared with input 2, so depending on the meter’s configuration
All outputs are clean contact, voltage free. All outputs are fully isolated from each other
(2kV). The BOSFET drivers are rated up to 110V.
There are two red LEDs on the meter face located just below the LCD. These would
generally be used to generate pulses for meter accuracy testing. These LEDs are
connected to Output’s #1 and #2. Their status is directly mirrored by the two outputs on
TB3.
Figure 10-2 shows the terminals of the EDMI Mk6E. TB3, TB4, TB5 and TB6 are the
terminals where outputs are fitted. All outputs are clean contact, voltage free. The
outputs are fully isolated from other circuits, though some of the outputs share common
terminals. The BOSFET drivers are rated up to 110V.
TB 2 TB 3 TB 4 TB 5 TB 6 TB 7 TB 8
TB 12 TB 10 TB 11
2 5 7 9 11 13
1 3 4 6 8 10 12 14
TB 1
The following table shows the terminals used by the first 4 outputs in the meter.
Terminal Description
TB3-1 Common Terminal (#1 and #2)
TB3-2 Output #1 (LED #1)
TB3-3 Output #2 (LED #2)
TB4-1 Common Terminal (#3 and #4)
TB4-2 Output #3
TB4-3 Output #4
• Table 10-1 Mk6E Standard Output Terminals
Table 10-2 shows the terminals used by the second 4 outputs that can be fitted on the
Mk6E. All of these outputs share a single common terminal on TB4 (Pin 1).
Terminal Description
TB5-1 Output #5
TB5-2 Output #6
TB6-1 Output #7
TB6-2 Output #8
• Table 10-2 Mk6E Extended Output Terminals
Programming Outputs
All of the outputs are functionally identical. The PulsingOutputs setup screen in
EziView allows them to be configured. Figure 10-3 shows the configuration screen for
a Mk6 Genius Meter.
The fitted outputs are listed down the page. Each output has its own 2 line display.
LED1 and LED2 refer to the two pulse LEDs. Outputs 2 and 3 refer to 2 of the outputs
on the top row of terminals. Outputs 1 and Outputs 4 to 7 can be setup by clicking on
the Add button. These are not currently listed on the setup screen since they have been
configured as Not Fitted (Discussed later).
Figure 10-4 shows the Pulsing Output setup page for a Mk6E meter. Notice that LED1
and Output1 are setup as the same output as are LED2 and Output2.
Each output has a mode which is listed next to the Output designator. Depending on the
mode, various other options become available. Each mode operates as described in the
following sections.
Most modes have an invert option Inv. which defines what active means. Normally an
active pulse is generated by lighting an LED or closing a contact. If this box is ticked
then this convention is inverted – pulses are generated by turning off an LED or opening
a contact.
To change the mode of an output or other options, click on the Edit button. Figure 10-5
shows the page used to edit individual Pulsing Output settings.
Not Fitted
This is used to indicate that this output is not physically fitted to the unit. This is simply
a tag to remind the user – it is not something detected from the actual hardware.
Off
This is used to indicate that the output is fitted, but is not being used for anything. The
output will be off. There are no other options.
Pulsing
The pulsing output mode is the most complex as there is a lot of flexibility in
configuring this mode. Pulsing outputs may be used to test the meter’s accuracy, or to
supply an indication of energy usage to another device. The output pulse rate is
proportional to the energy measured such that each pulse represents a defined amount of
energy. Table 10-3 lists the options available.
Setting Description
Inv. Output polarity.
Active Time This is the approximate time in milliseconds that the output will pulse
active for.
Inactive Time At least this time (in milliseconds) should occur between pulses. If it
does not, a pulsing output overflow EFA alarm is generated to warn
that pulses may be lost.
Parameter This is the amount of energy that each pulse represents in Wh, varh,
or VAh as appropriate. Valid settings are from 0.000001 to
1000000000000.0
P/S The parameter may be either a primary (at VT/CT inputs) or a
secondary (at meter terminals) quantity. This selects which: P for
primary, S for secondary. Secondary is especially useful for test
LEDs in laboratory testing so that they are unaffected by the
transformer ratio set.
Channel This selects what input channel the energy is from. “All” is the most
used option, where it is the total of all three phases (2 in two element
mode). The phase by phase options (“A”, “B” and “C”) are most
useful in 3 element mode where each phase may be indicated
independently.
Type This gives the type of energy – “Wh”, “varh”, or “VAh”.
Sign The “Abs” option here means that the output will operate for energy
flowing in either direction. The “+” and “-” select Export only or Import
only energy respectively. The diagram at the bottom of the setup
page illustrates the energy directions. Figure 2-16 on page 2-20 gives
more detailed information.
The remaining options allow any combination of quadrants to be
selected. The numbers refer to the quadrant numbers 1 to 4 given in
the setup page diagram. An x is shown for disabled quadrants that
will not give an output.
• Table 10-3 Pulsing Output options.
If the pulse rate results in an inactive time of zero or less, the output will remain active.
If the pulse rate slows down, pulses will once more be distinguishable. Pulses do not
‘back up’ if the rate becomes too fast – they simply merge into each other. Therefore it
is important to select an appropriate parameter to prevent pulses from being lost under
high load conditions.
Example
An LED output is needed for testing the delivered Wh accuracy. A pulse rate of 0.01
Wh per pulse is needed at the meter terminals. The sense head needs a 90ms light pulse
with at least a 50ms gap between pulses to sense properly.
The required setup is no inversion, 90ms active time, 50ms inactive time, a parameter of
0.01, Secondary, All channels, W, Export (+).
More Help
EziView has a built in calculator that assists you in setting the Parameter for a pulsing
output. It is accessed by clicking on the calculator icon when configuring an output
setup as Pulsing. This calculator allows you to set your system characteristics (Line to
Line or Line to Neutral Voltage, Current and Load Rating) and then tweak the rate of
the pusling output through different representations of the pulsing rate.
Pulsed
The pulsed output mode is mostly designed for use with EziScript for pulse
transmission. In this mode a number of pulses are written to a register (F96X series),
which is added to a total of pulses to be sent. Pulses are sent with the indicated Active
and Inactive times. Each time a pulse is sent the pulses to be transmitted is decremented
by one, until there are no pulses left to send. If the meter is turned off then any pulses
that were queued for transmission will be lost. Table 10-4 lists the options available.
Normally instructions for this setup will be given with the EziScript documentation.
Setting Description
Inv. Output polarity.
Active Time This is the time in milliseconds that the output will pulse active for.
This has a resolution of 5ms – if the time is not divisible by 5ms, it will
be rounded down.
Inactive Time This is the time between pulses. This has a resolution of 5ms, as for
the Active Time.
• Table 10-4 Pulsed Output options.
The only difference between Fixed Output and Fixed Output Persistent is when power
to the meter is lost. When power to the meter is restored, a Fixed Output Persistent
output will return to the state it was last set to before power off. A Fixed Output mode
output will return to the inactive state under the same circumstances.
Setting Description
Inv. Output polarity.
• Table 10-5 Fixed Output/Persistent options.
Setting Description
Inv. Output polarity.
Active Time This is the time in milliseconds that the output will pulse active for.
Has a resolution of 5ms – if the time is not divisible by 5ms, it will be
rounded down.
Inactive Time This is the time between the start of each time pulse in seconds. The
pulse starts at the indicated time.
• Table 10-6 Time Pulse options.
The offset of the time pulse from the hour or such can be calculated. A time pulse is
generated every Inactive Time seconds from the beginning of the meter’s time (the start
of 1996). Thus a setting of 61 seconds would give a time pulse every 61 seconds
starting at midnight on the 1st of January 1996. Of course such a setting is not very
useful - the following list indicates some common settings.
Interval Setting
Every minute 60
Every 15 minutes 60 * 15 = 900
Every half hour 60 * 30 = 1800
Every hour 60 * 60 = 3600
• Table 10-7 Time Pulse options.
Example
A 500ms time pulse contact closure is required every 15 minutes at 0, 15, 30, and 45
minutes past the hour.
The active time should be set to 500, and the inactive time to 15 * 60 = 900 seconds.
• Figure 10-7 EziView Online Variables Mk6 Genius Pulsing Outputs page.
All outputs are listed, along with their mode. For Fixed Output and Fixed Output
Persistent modes the State column shows their current output state. For Pulsed mode
the Pulses column gives the number of pulses queued for transmission. Clicking on an
output of one of these types allows it to be changed in the window at the bottom of the
page. For Pulsed mode entering a number and clicking Set adds that number to the
number of pulsed to be transmitted. Note that for a Mk6E Meter, the Online Variables
page shows LED1 and Output1 and LED2 and Output2 as the same physical output as
explained previously. (see Figure 10-8)
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Pulsing Inputs
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Up to six pulsing inputs may be fitted to the meter, depending on the supplied options.
Pulsing inputs allow the meter to count pulses from other devices such as energy, water
or gas meters. They may also be used to synchronise the time with other units, allow the
remote reading of other equipment’s status, or used to gate energy for accuracy tests. In
conjunction with EziScript extensions they may be used for specialised tasks such as
external control of tariff rates.
As with the Pulsing Outputs, the Mk6 Genius and the Mk6E have slightly different
hardware options.
Configuration
There are several uses of the meter’s pulsing inputs. This section explains how to set up
the inputs via EziView’s PulsingInputs setup page (Figure 11-3).
The PuslingInputs setup page lists all the meters inputs. If an input is not listed on this
page or is listed when it is not fitted, use the Add and Delete buttons to update the list of
fitted inputs. All inputs have the same properties, ignoring any electrical differences
between the input circuits. Each input has a mode setting that determines how it may be
used.
Mode Description
Unused The input is fitted, but is unused.
Pulsing This is used where the number of pulses that occur is the important
information. The input is sampled at a rate of 40Hz. A change of
state from inactive to active causes a pulse to be measured. As such
the maximum detectable pulse rate is just under 20Hz, but this is
derated to 10Hz to allow for the 50Hz filters on the inputs.
SteadyState This is used for inputs where the state of the input is important, not
whether it is pulsing.
• Table 11-2 Pulsing input modes.
On the Mk6 Genius Meter, the physical hardware of the meter means that Input 2 and
Output 1 share the same connector. Which one is fitted to the meter is a factory option.
At least one of Input 2 or Output 1 should always be set to Not Fitted.
Field Description
Mode Explained above in Table 11-2.
Type This is a simple flag that may be set as a reminder of the input
source. It has no effect on readings.
Invert If true then the sense of the input is inverted so a loss of voltage on
the input is taken as activation.
Parameter This is a multiplier that is used to convert the number of pulses to
real quantities. For example it may be set to the energy per pulse to
give TOU accumulations in energy instead of pulses.
Description This is a description of the input, kept locally by EziView.
• Table 11-3 Pulsing input field descriptions.
Information about the status of the inputs can be obtained from the EziView Online
Variables → PulsingInputs page (Figure 11-4).
State gives the current state of each input. On means active - if the input is set to be
inverting then On actually means no voltage is applied to the input.
Unscaled gives the number of pulses accumulated in the last second. This is only
calculated for Pulsing mode inputs. The Scaled column gives the same information, but
scaled by each input’s multiplier factor.
time. The pulsing input system simply calculates the number of pulses over the last
second and leaves other systems to log the results.
3. If the input source produces a pulse by applying a voltage, set Invert to false. If the
input source produces a pulse by dropping out a normally applied voltage, set Invert
to true.
4. Set Parameter to the quantity per pulse of the input, such as Wh/pulse.
Now the input may be used as a source for other systems of the meter.
3. If the input source produces a pulse by applying a voltage, set Invert to false. If the
input source produces a pulse by dropping out a normally applied voltage, set Invert
to true.
Now the input may be used as a time pulse source. Note the input number so that the
correct number is used in setting up the rest of the time synchronisation. The TimeSetup
page must be used to complete the setup.
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Date and Time
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The time source is configured via EziViews TimeSetup page (Figure 12-2). Set the
Time Source field to the required mode of operation. The System Frequency field
allows the base system frequency to be specified. At this time 50Hz and 60 Hz are
supported.
To minimise the disruption that changing the time causes, the meter will slide the time
for small errors. If the time change required is within 30 seconds, the meter will run the
clock fast or slow (by up to 10%) as appropriate to correct the time. If time pulses stop,
the meter continues as if time pulses were not enabled.
1. Configure the pulsing input with a Mode of Pulsing, and set Invert as appropriate
(sync occurs on the leading edge) via the PulsingInputs page. See Chapter 11 for
more information on pulsing input configuration.
3. Set the time interval for the syncronising pulse. If the required interval is not
available, use a submultiple.
The input MUST be set to Pulsing mode for time synchronisation to work.
Loss of Power
If no battery is fitted or it is discharged the meter will use the time that the meter
powered off, or if that is not available then it reverts to 1/1/1996. A Clock alarm will
also be raised. Restarting with the “power off” time reduces the possible ‘loss’ of data
that changing the time could cause.
Daylight Saving
The meter fully supports daylight saving. Figure 12-3 shows the setup page.
• Figure 12-3 EziView Date and Time Setup page – Daylight Savings.
Check the Enable Daylight Savings box to enable the other settings. When unchecked
the start date and end date are set to be the same which disables daylight saving.
DLS Start Hour: This is the hour during the day when daylight savings will become
active on the specified date. This is always specified as Standard Time. (Default is 2am)
DLS Start Day: This is the day on which daylight savings will begin. Sunday is 0
through to 6 which is Saturday. In most cases this will be Sunday. (Default is Sunday)
DLS Start Date: The date on which daylight savings will begin. This is written to the
meter with a year but the year is always ignored. The exact date on which daylight
savings will occur will be the day (DLS Start Day) on or after the set date. Reading this
register will always return the set date rather than the actual date on which the change
will occur for the year. (Default is 01/01)
The DLS End Hour (Default is 1am), the DLS End Day (Default is Sunday) and the
DLS End Date (Default is 01/01) work identically to the DLS Start times. The DLS End
Hour is set to the Standard time at which time should revert back from Summer Time.
Example
To set the start time to be 2 a.m. (Standard Time) on the first Sunday in February:
Start Hour = 2, Start Day = 0, Start Date = 01/02/xx
To set the end time to be 2 a.m. (Summer Time) on the last Sunday in October:
End Hour = 1, End Day = 0, End Date = 25/10/xx
Note that if the begin and end dates are the same daylight saving will be deactivated.
The Hours To Jump setting specifies in whole hours, the number of hours to jump
forward on the Start Date and the number of hours to jump back on the End Day.
Register 0xF061 reports the system time after any daylight savings corrections have
been added. Both internal and external datatypes are supported. The register cannot be
written. The meter time can only be set to Standard Time through the normal registers.
3) Time dependent settings (Billing Resets, Rates and Seasons) will run as normal off
Standard Time if the daylight saving box is not checked. If the daylight saving box is
checked in their settings, the setting will run off Summer Time if daylight saving is
active and Standard Time if it is inactive.
4) Time based events (particularly Billing Resets and script based time events) will not
be activated on the start date if they are set to occur in the period over which the time
jumps. In the example, a Billing Reset set to occur at 2:30:00 07/02/99 (Standard Time)
will not occur since there is no actual 2:30 on that day. Similarly, a Billing Reset set to
occur at 1:30:00 31/10/99 (Summer Time) will occur twice, since there are two
instances where the time is 1:30. However, in the case that the event is set to occur on
Standard time it will only occur once - there is only one 1:30 (Standard Time).
For these reasons it is suggested that any time based events should be set to occur during
the periods when a time change does not occur due to daylight saving starting or ending.
5) Time range based settings (Rates and Seasons) will work correctly. However if a
range begins during the period in which time is changed back, the results may seem odd.
In the case of a Season or a Rate beginning at 1:30:00 31/10/99 (Summer Time) the
following would result (Table 12-2).
This is correct since there are two 1:30 time instances on 31/10/99.
6) The display of time on the default LCD display includes daylight saving. To display
standard time on the LCD use register F03D. Register F061 gives daylight saving time,
but cannot be written. All time settings to the meter are done using standard time to
avoid ambiguous times. EziView converts daylight saving time to standard time when
writing the time to the meter.
A ‘D’ is shown on the default LCD display just to the left of the time if daylight savings
is active.
Time Statistics
The meter maintains a set of statistics about when it was operating. These can be useful
in fault and outage tracking, and in tamper detection. The Screens → Online Variables
→ Date Time dialog in EziView displays this information (see Figure 12-1).
The Power On/Off panel gives accumulated power on and power off times since they
were last cleared. To clear the on and off times click the top Clear button. The number
of power ups is also shown. To clear this click the bottom Clear button.
The Last Power On/Off panel gives statistics about when and how long ago that power
was last applied. It also gives the time and duration of the last power outage.
13
Time of Use
ter13
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The Time of Use system (TOU) is used when there is a need to measure usage patterns
without going to the detail of load survey type recordings. The aim of the TOU system
is to produce directly from the meter the type of tariff information that is generally
extracted from a load survey. This reduces the amount of information that must be
transferred from the meter, and makes the information more easily accessible to the
customer on site.
• Up to 12 channels of TOU.
• Channel data can be from the meter’s own measurements, or pulses from external
sources. Example sources are Imported Wh, Export varh or Input #1 pulses.
• Each channel records the accumulated energy, as well as the maximum demand of
energy and the time of maximum demand of energy.
• Each channel records this information in up to eight rates, each rate being a time
period over which the information was recorded. There is also a unified rate that
behaves as if it was always active.
• The occurrence of a billing reset causes the contents of all current channels to be
copied into a set of previous channels. This data is also added to a set of total
registers. After this processing the current set of channels is cleared to zero.
• Each channel belongs to one of 5 rate groups (W, VAR, VA, EX1, and EX2).
• There are 5 active rates (one for each of the 5 rate groups), each being independently
programmable using the scheduler.
• Scheduler time specifications may repeat hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and
never, or repeat at a user defined interval. Specifications with a longer repeat rate
have priority over others.
• Billing resets may be locked out for a defined period to stop repeated triggering.
• Manual Billing Resets may be initiated using the sealable billing reset button.
A running example is used throughout this chapter which is built upon as new concepts
are covered. It is important to read the examples as some information is covered only
there.
Overview
This section covers the fundamentals and terminology of the TOU system. The
following diagram is used throughout and illustrates the overall structure of the TOU
system (Figure 13-1).
Total
Billing Total
Previous
Current Channel 1 Channel 2 Channel 3 … Channel 12
Rate 1 Accumulation
Max. Demand
Time of Max.
Rate 2
Rate 3
…
Rate 8
Unified
Rate
• Figure 13-1 TOU overview, cell.
• A maximum demand register (32 bit for current and previous, 64 bit for total and
billing total). This stores the maximum demand, covered in more detail later.
• A time of maximum demand register (32 bit, 1-second resolution). The current time
is stored here when a new maximum demand occurs.
TOU Channels
Total
Billing Total
Previous
Current Channel 1 Channel 2 Channel 3 … Channel 12
Rate 1 Accumulation
Max. Demand
Time of Max.
Rate 2
Rate 3
…
Rate 8
Unified
Rate
• Figure 13-2 TOU overview, channels.
Information about a particular quantity is recorded in a TOU channel. The meter has 12
TOU channels available, each being largely independent of the others. One TOU
channel may record information on kWh consumption, while another is used for kvarh
consumption. Figure 13-2 illustrates how channels fit in to the system.
Rates
Total
Billing Total
Previous
Current Channel 1 Channel 2 Channel 3 … Channel 12
Rate 1 Accumulation
Max. Demand
Time of Max.
Rate 2
Rate 3
…
Rate 8
Unified
Rate
• Figure 13-3 TOU overview, rates.
Rates allow energy used at different times to be treated differently, generally in terms of
the cost to the customer. Up to eight rates are available, determined by the feature code.
Figure 13-3 illustrates how rates fit in to the system.
The active rate of a channel is where new data is recorded - it specifies which cell is
active out of the eight. The unified rate gives readings as if there was only ever a single
rate active - i.e. it is the sum of the accumulation registers, the maximum of the
maximum demand registers, and the time of the maximum of the maximum demand
registers.
24:00
10:00
11:00
12:00
13:00
14:00
15:00
16:00
17:00
18:00
19:00
20:00
21:00
22:00
23:00
Time
1:00
2:00
3:00
4:00
5:00
6:00
7:00
8:00
9:00
W
Var
VA
EX1
EX2
There are situations where one active rate for all channels is not enough, e.g. a pulsing
input from a gas meter that is subject to different timings to energy readings. To cover
this, the meter has 5 independent rate groups.
At any one time one rate is active in each of the 5 rate groups. The rate groups are
called ‘W’, ‘var’, ‘VA’, ‘EX1’, and ‘EX2’. The names do suggest uses for them, but
any rate group can be used for any purpose. The active rates for the first 3 rate groups
are displayed on the default LCD screen.
The active rate that affects a channel is determined from the TOU channel’s rate group.
Each TOU channel belongs to a rate group for accumulated energy, and a rate group for
maximum demand (they may be different).
In the example of Figure 13-4 the 5 rate groups are shown down the side, with times of
the day along the top. Different colours in the grid represent different active rate
numbers. Rate group VA has the same active rate all day, while rate group EX1 has
three different active rates during the day.
The active rate in each group may be controlled by the scheduler, or from a manual
override.
Billing Resets
Total
Billing Total
Previous
Current Channel 1 Channel 2 Channel 3 … Channel 12
Rate 1 Accumulation
Max. Demand
Time of Max.
Rate 2
Rate 3
…
Rate 8
Unified
Rate
• Figure 13-5 TOU overview, billing resets.
The current registers are where TOU information is currently being accumulated.
When a billing reset occurs, these registers are copied into the previous registers
(identical) and the current registers are cleared. All TOU channels are reset at once. As
well as this, the accumulation registers are added to the billing total accumulation
registers, and the maximum demand registers are added to the billing total maximum
demand registers. There are no billing total time of maximum demand registers as they
have no meaning.
The total registers are a sum of the billing total registers and the current registers
following the same rules.
A billing reset lockout period may also be specified. Two billing resets may not occur
within this time of each other. If an attempt is made, the second billing reset will be
ignored.
The ability to perform a billing reset is controlled by a feature code. Your meter may
not have this code.
To extend the number of previous readings stored, an EziScript survey may be used.
See Chapter 19, Billing History Tool on page 19-5 for more information.
Overflows
The reason for the large number of bits in the registers is to totally eliminate the
possibility of overflow within the lifetime of the meter, and to provide high resolution
At the other end of the scale, even at full load the registers will not overflow. The
maximum demand registers (which never record energy for more than an hour) would
take almost 6 days to overflow. The energy accumulation registers will take more than
70 million years to overflow at full load. Even a billing reset every minute would mean
the cumulative maximum demand registers would not overflow for well over 1 million
years.
Gated energy tests are performed at an even higher internal pulse rate to ensure
maximum accuracy, at a rate of over a hundred thousand times faster.
Maximum Demands
In support of the maximum demand registers are the rising demand registers. These are
the registers that accumulate energy over the demand period, generally from 1 minute to
60 minutes. The demand for the period is simply the accumulated energy divided by the
fraction of an hour that the demand period is. Each TOU channel has its own set of 15
rising demand registers. The reason there are fifteen is to allow for rolling demand
schemes. For example, there might be three 15-minute demands, but they start with
offsets from the hour of 0, 5 and 10 minutes. An offset of 5 minutes results in resets at
times of 0:05, 0:20, 0:35, and 0:50.
When a demand period ends, the demand is compared with the channel’s active
maximum demand register. If it is larger, the new maximum demand is written to the
maximum demand register and the time of maximum demand is updated to the current
time.
300 Demand 1
Demand 2
250 Demand 3
Power
200
Power
150
100
50
0
0:00 0:05 0:10 0:15 0:20 0:25 0:30 0:35 0:40 0:45
Time
In this example (Figure 13-6), the power trace on the graph shows the power that the
meter is measuring at that time. The three demand traces show how 3 rising demand
registers behave. They are all 15-minute demands on 5-minute windows. The demands
shown are the rising demands, computed from the energy accumulated over the 15
minute period multiplied by 4 (60 / 15 = 4) to convert Wh to W. The value rises until at
the end of the 15 minutes it is equal to the average power over the 15 minutes.
The first maximum occurs at 0:15, then at 0:20, 0:25, and 0:30. After this no new
maximums occur.
Seasons
The meter allows up to seven seasons to be defined. Only one season is active at any
one time, although it is possible for no seasons to be active. Each entry in the scheduler
may optionally be set to only be active when a certain season is active. This allows for
different schemes in summer and winter, or even as a way to change tariff schemes on a
certain day.
Care must be taken with using seasons with single time scheduler events like billing
resets. If the meter is turned off or the time is changed, the season which is used to look
for a skipped over event such as a billing reset is that which is active at the beginning of
the period. As such it is recommended that seasons only be used for range type
scheduler events like rates, not for single time events like billing resets.
The Scheduler/Calender
This is the system within the meter to determine when things happen. This system is
used to automatically control the active rates, billing resets, demand resets, and seasons,
as well as several other sections of the meter.
There are several ways to specify a time, based on how often it repeats. The times are
specified in minutes past a reference point. The table below shows the options (Table
13-1). The size columns give the size of an entry of this type in bytes.
If two single time entries occur in the same minute to generate the same event (e.g. a
billing reset), the event will still occur only once. If power is switched off or a time
change occurs, the intervening time is searched for events that would have occurred
during the period. At most only one of the same event will be generated by this method.
Time range entries are specified in a similar manner, except that two times are given -
the start time and the end time. If the start time is after the end time, the range extends
over the boundaries. For example, starting at 20:00 on a daily time type and going to
7:00 would result in a range that extends through midnight, but excludes the period 7:00
to 20:00 during the day.
When time range entries for the same event overlap (e.g. active rate) there is a defined
precedence. Time types lower down in Table 13-1 (i.e. those with longer repeat rates)
override types higher up the table, e.g. Yearly overrides Daily. For time types with the
same type, those higher up in the scheduler table will override those lower down.
The Memory Available bar at the bottom of the scheduler setup pages indicates how
much memory is left in the meter for entries. Note that the BillingReset, Demand, Rates
and Season pages all share the same block of memory. The meter has 1600 bytes of
memory allocated for the scheduler. This gives up to 266 of the smallest entries, but in
practice there will be a mix of types so this figure will be less.
Channel setup
Information about a particular quantity is recorded in a TOU channel by the meter. The
meter has 12 TOU channels available, each being largely independent of the others.
The TOUSetup page (Figure 13-7) in EziView allows the content of each channel to be
defined. This should generally be done as the first part of setting up the TOU system.
Each line 1 to 12 of the table is the setup for a channel. The setup for each channel is as
follows:
Register
This field gives the source of the channel as a source of ‘pulses’. Every second the
register listed in this field is read to retrieve the number of pulses that occurred during
the last second.
Four quadrant measurement is an option requiring a feature code to activate it. Without
the feature code only quadrants 1 and 4 are available. Var, varh, VA and VAh readings
are also an option requiring a feature code.
In the following example Total Export Wh has been selected (Figure 13-8).
The Energy group (Figure 13-8) allows the selection of energy quantities based on
import/export direction. They are in micropulses.
The pulsing inputs group (Figure 13-10) allows pulsing inputs to be selected as a source.
The values read are the number of pulses on the indicated input. The input must be set
up appropriately as a pulsing input.
Option Description
1:1 No scaling is done. This is generally not used, but may be useful for
pulsing inputs if the unscaled value is required.
Primary This is for scaling micropulses into primary quantities – the external
transformer ratios are used.
Secondary This is for scaling micropulses into secondary quantities – the external
transformer ratios are not used.
Pul Inp x This is for scaling pulses from a pulsing input by the scaling factor per
pulse specified in the pulsing input setup. The x specifies which input’s
scaling factor to use.
Factor x This uses one of the custom scaling factors from the table at the bottom
right of the form. This may be useful if the source of pulses to the TOU
channel is not from one of the standard sources and needs to be treated
differently.
• Table 13-2 Scaling factors.
Description
This field allows an up to 10 letter description to be added to the channel. This is the
column heading that is displayed in the EziView TOU display table.
User Level
When a register is read by the TOU system, this is the user level that is used to read it.
If the indicated user level does not have security access to the indicated register, the
register will not be read and no pulses will be added to the channel.
Example
Suppose the meter needs to record import and export Wh and varh. Pulses from pulsing
input 1 also need to be recorded. The read outs need to be in primary, real world
quantities. There is a requirement to keep the active rate for Wh, varh, and pulses
independent, but no need to differentiate between accumulated and demand rates. The
Default_1 group has access to all of the registers required.
Once this setup is loaded into the meter, it will start to record the indicated quantities.
As no rates have been set up, all energy will record into the first rate.
To see the effect of this setup use the EziView Screens → Time Of Use online display
(Figure 13-12). This display updates in real time as new energy is accumulated. Five
columns of figures are shown, one for each of the TOU channels. The column titles
come from the descriptions entered into the channel configuration.
Only the first rate and the unified rate show any accumulated energy. This is because at
present the first rate is active by default because the rate scheduler is not configured.
The rate scheduler is explained later in this chapter.
The columns may be re-sized using the mouse at the top of the column break. The
minimum column width to display may be configured on the Setup page.
More details on the use of this screen are explained over the following sections.
Rates
The Tariff Rates page (Figure 13-13) of EziView allows automatic rate changes to be
scheduled.
Each line of the table specifies a range of time over which the specified rate should be
active for the specified rate groups. The scheduler in the meter resolves the priorities of
the entries to give an active rate for each rate group. The meaning of each column is
listed briefly in Table 13-3 below.
Column Description
Type This is the type of entry, which gives the span of time it repeats over.
Table 13-1 has a full list.
Start This is the start of the time range.
End This is the end of the time range.
D Check this box if the Start and End times are in daylight saving time.
Rate Select the Rate that this entry is to change to.
Season Selecting a season means that the entry will be ignored unless that
season is active.
W Check to allow this entry to affect the W rate group.
Var Check to allow this entry to affect the var rate group.
VA Check to allow this entry to affect the VA rate group.
EX1 Check to allow this entry to affect the EX1 rate group.
EX2 Check to allow this entry to affect the EX2 rate group.
• Table 13-3 EziView rate setup columns.
The best way to explain how to use the system is with an example:
Time Rate
0:00 to 7:00 Off Peak
7:00 to 10:00 Peak
10:00 to 17:00 Daytime
17:00 to 21:00 Peak
21:00 to 24:00 Off Peak
Weekends: Off Peak
21:00 Friday to 7:00 Monday
• Table 13-4 Example tariff times.
There are 3 rates in this tariff structure, each being charged at a different amount per
Wh. To separate this usage different rates in the meter are used for each tariff rate. For
this example the following assignment is used (Table 13-5):
It is best to use rate 1 for the most common rate. Rate 1 is the default rate, and as such
does not need any scheduler entries to define it.
The first three lines are self-explanatory. They define a daily schedule of changes. The
last entry overrides the daily entries to enforce off peak on a weekend. This could be
simplified even further by using the fact that entries higher up in the table override those
lower down of the same type if they overlap. In the following table (Table 13-7) the top
entry will override the second entry during the middle of the day. While this requires
fewer entries, it is more cryptic than the earlier version (Table 13-6).
We will use rate group W for the channels to be controlled by this tariff. No seasons are
used, and all times are standard time, not daylight saving time.
The EziView Tariff Rates page can now be filled in. The following is for the first entry:
2. Enter the Start time. This is done by double clicking on the field to bring up the
Minute Calculator (Figure 13-14). Earlier (Table 13-1) it was mentioned that the
times are entered as a number of minutes past the repeat point. The minute
calculator lets you ignore that and enter times as hours, minutes, etc. The field at
the bottom left shows the time in minutes, while the field at the bottom right shows
the calculated time. Using the minutes and hours fields, set the start time to 10:00
and click OK.
3. Enter the End Time of 17:00 in the same way as the start time.
5. Select the Rate from the drop down list. Depending on EziView settings that rate
will be either as letters A to H, or as numbers 1 to 8. Select C or 3 as appropriate.
(See the “Rates” section on page 13-3).
6. The blank Season from the drop down list should be selected.
7. Check the W rate group column, but leave the other columns unchecked.
Fill in the other two entries in a similar fashion and the screen should look as follows
(although the rate may be listed as numbers) in Figure 13-15:
Note that the Memory Available bar drops slightly in length. Each entry in the Tariff
pages uses a small amount of memory. This is what limits the maximum number of
entries the meter can be programmed with. See Table 13-1 and its accompanying text
for details.
The rate groups not specifically changed will simply remain in the first rate.
To delete an entry select the blank option from the type list.
Displaying the Status → Time Of Use screen (Figure 13-16) in EziView will now show
that the energy in the W rate group channels is now being split across the first 3 rates.
The other channels are not affected because the active rate for their rate group is the first
rate. Of course this will only show entries if the meter has been run over the time
periods.
Maximum Demand
The Setup → Tariff → Demand page in EziView (Figure 13-18) is used to configure the
maximum demand system.
Each channel in the meter has a set of 15 rising demand registers that accumulate energy
continuously. When the demand schedule indicates that one of these should be reset,
the demand is calculated (using the rate of the scheduler event) and is compared against
the channel’s maximum demand. If the new reading is greater, a new maximum and
time of maximum is set for the channel. The demand register is then reset.
The demand scheduler set up is similar to rate scheduler configuration. The main
difference is in the type of time event required. What is needed to mark the ends of
demand intervals is a type that resets the rising demand registers when the end of an
interval is reached. The type to use is Rate. No other types can be used for demand.
EziView has three different modes that can be use to configure the Demand reset points.
These are described in Table 13-8.
Block Demand
In a simple block demand, the first rising demand register for each type of energy is
reset every interval period. So at the end of each period the demand for that interval is
compared with the Maximum Demand for the channel. If it is bigger, then it becomes
the Maximum Demand.
0:00
0:05
0:10
0:15
0:20
0:25
0:30
0:35
0:40
0:45
0:50
0:55
1:00
1:05
1:10
There are three entries listed. Each has a type of rate, a 15 minute interval, and set to
affect channels with a demand rate group of W. The differences are the offsets and the
period (Per.) settings. The offsets create the windowed effect, and the periods set each
one to reset a different one of the channel’s 15 rising demand registers. If the periods
were all set to 1, the meter would reset the first rising demand channel every five
minutes, but would calculate demand based on 15 minutes – not the result required.
The Time field becomes the demand interval, the time between resetting the demand
back to zero. It must always be divisible into an hour evenly (i.e. 60, 30, 20, 15, 12,
10, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1 minute). If it is not the demand calculated will be wrong.
The Offset field is an offset from start of the interval. For example, if the Time field is
set to15 minutes, setting the Offset field to 5 results in resets at times of 0:05, 0:20,
0:35, and 0:50. This is used for rolling window demand schemes.
The daylight saving field should not be used for demands. The season field could be
used to implement different maximum demand schemes in different seasons, although
normally it should be left blank.
As with rates, each entry uses up some memory, as shown by the memory available
bar. The main issue here is making sure the rates doesn’t use so much memory that
the other sections don’t have enough. The number of demand entries will generally be
minimal in comparison.
Other settings
The Forgiveness Time setting allows for a start up period forgiveness time. If the power
has been off for some time it generally takes a fair bit of power to start a plant up again.
This abnormal situation can increase the maximum demand, even if it was caused by a
loss of power that was not the fault of the plant.
If the meter has been off for more than the Off Activation Time (in seconds), then when
power is restored no new maximum demands will be recorded until the Forgiveness
Time (in seconds) has passed. It works by preventing new maximum demands from
being registered, not by stopping the rising demand registers, which still accumulate and
reset as normal.
Billing Resets
Billing resets are used to take a reading of the TOU registers. They may be generated in
either of three ways:
• Manually using the Billing Reset button on the meter (where fitted).
When a billing reset occurs for any reason, the following message is shown on the LCD
for several seconds (Figure 13-22), overriding any other display.
The date and time of the last and 2nd last billing resets (by any cause) are also displayed
on this page. If these resets have never occurred the date 1/1/96 will be shown. The
Number Of Billing Resets counter records the total number of billing resets the meter
has had. The lockout time figures are discussed later.
In order for the billing reset button to work it must be enabled via the meter setup (the
default condition). To enable the button, go to the Security setup page (Figure 13-24)
and uncheck the Billing Reset Button Disable check box.
The billing reset button may be physically sealed using a lead or plastic seal.
For the Beginning of Month and End of Month modes, the user must describe the
following:
The Time field determines the time on the day prescribed by the Day field that the reset
is to occur. For the Beginning of the Month mode the default time is 00:00:00 or the
beginning of the day. For the End of Month mode the default timeis 24:00:00 or the end
of the day.
In each of these modes the next Billing Reset date and time are displayed to assist in
your setup.
In special mode, the Automatic Tarriff Billing Resets are configured via the Tariff
BillingReset setup page in EziView (Figure 13-25).
The most common type of entry used is the monthly. The configuration in Figure 13-25
will perform a billing reset at the start of every month. The day and time of the billing
reset can be specified in the time field.
Reverse monthly events are useful in situations where the billing reset must occur a
certain number of days from the end of the month.
The Offset field is used only for rate type events. This is used where a reset should
occur every 60 days for example. The Time field gives the repeat rate, with the first
event occurring 1/1/96. The Offset field allows this start time (and thus all events
afterward) to be shifted by a fixed amount.
Any other event type may be used, but they are not usually. Multiple events may be
specified, allowing scenarios such as “Perform a billing reset on the 15th day of every
month, and on the 1st of January”.
The daylight saving checkbox causes the event to be calculated on daylight saving time
instead of standard time. If this option is used, billing resets should not be scheduled to
occur during the daylight saving change over period. During this period times occur
twice or not at all – affecting the occurrence of billing resets. If time is changed past the
change-over period the meter will always trigger just one missed reset. Avoid these
confusions by not programming resets during the daylight saving change-over periods
(e.g. when 2am goes to 3am, or 3am goes to 2am).
The season field allows specific billing reset events to only occur in the specified
season, allowing changing of billing reset times automatically during the year. As with
other occurrences of this field, setting it to blank disables season control for the entry.
The lockout interval may be set on the Tariff BillingReset page in EziView (Figure
13-25 above). The setting is in minutes. A setting of zero disables this feature.
The remaining lockout time may be seen on the Screens → Online Variables → Tariff
page (Figure 13-23) in EziView.
Viewing
The Screens → Time Of Use status screen (Figure 13-26) may be used to view the
effects of a billing reset.
Periods before the most recent previous readings may be stored in a TOU history
survey. See Chapter 19, Billing History Tool on page 19-5 for more information on
this.
Seasons
Seasons provide the capability of changing which entries in the scheduler tables are used
at different times. They are configured via EziView’s Tariff Season configuration page
(Figure 13-27).
Each entry in the other sections of the scheduler may be controlled by a season. The
entry is only used in calculating when that season is active. There are seven seasons
available, but only one may be active at any one time.
Season entries are processed in a similar way to rate entries. A time range is specified
along with the season to enable during that time. The same rules of precedence in the
case of a conflict apply - types of longer interval have priority, entries towards the top of
the table have priority. The blank season setting means that no season is active.
The example in Figure 13-27 shows a definition for Southern Hemisphere summer and
winter seasons. The season names may be changed from the defaults using the table at
the bottom of the setup page.
The daylight saving checkbox allows the entry to be controlled by daylight saving time
rather than standard time.
The most obvious use for seasons is to enable different tariff structures at different times
of the year. Another use is to use them to define day types. Different seasons would
define different day types such as weekday, weekend, holiday etc., configured on the
rates page. The season page would then be used to define when those types of day
occurred. This could be useful to reduce the complexity of programming some types of
tariff structures.
More esoteric uses include changing demand intervals for different days of the week, or
automatically switch over to a different tariff structure on a certain date.
The current season may be displayed using the Screens → Online Variables → Tariff
page in EziView (Figure 13-28). The current season is shown at the bottom of the list of
current rates.