Frequently Asked Questions

Smart meters are electronic devices that record energy consumption and send that information back to a utility for monitoring and billing. They provide for two-way communication between the meter and the utility and are a key component of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) solutions.

Yes, they are equally or more accurate. Manufacturers subject them to rigorous internal testing. Additionally, they are often certified by independent agencies like Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Yes, meter manufacturers and utilities place a premium on security and employ many measures to ensure data is securely and safely transmitted.

Under normal operating conditions and when they are properly connected and maintained, smart meters are safe. If you put electrical equipment (of any kind) in an unsafe environment, you run the risk of unintended consequences. Meter boxes with loose, corroded or failed connections, faulty wiring, power surges, water intrusion and meter tampering can all lead to meter failures.

Yes, with proper training. We always underscore the critical importance of thorough meter installation procedures, careful examination of meter boxes and wiring at installation, training of installers and the need for rapid remedial action when field problems are observed.

Despite news coverage of consumer concerns over smart meter radio frequencies (RF), numerous reports and industry group findings show that smart meter technology is very safe. In fact, there are a number of existing everyday environmental sources that produce much stronger RF fields than those of a smart metering system. RF energy produced by smart meters is not harmful and is comparable to cellular phone devices, wireless baby monitors, television broadcasts, garage door openers, microwave ovens, cordless phones and Wi-Fi networks.

In many ways. They measure and transmit energy usage directly to your utility, eliminating the need for estimated bills and surprises associated with them. Because they provide you with near real-time usage information, they empower you to take control over your consumption—and your bill. They also improve outage detection and power restoration efforts, ensuring that when an outage occurs, you’re not without power a moment longer than necessary.

Since mid-2015. The meter is the culmination of three years investment in research and development to better understand the environmental and operational conditions under which meters operate. The engineering and testing behind it confirms our commitment to continuously evolve our technology. Going beyond ANSI and UL 2735 standards, the Stratus meter enables utilities to capture and analyze data for unparalleled efficiency and responsiveness. It’s been well received by the industry with more than 500,000 deployed in the field.

Yes. It doesn’t just meet—it exceeds—all relevant American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and UL 2735 safety and performance standards. In addition, Sensus performs numerous tests at the time of manufacture on every electricity meter we produce. These tests are completed at several test stations in the production process to ensure each meter passes all manufacturing steps prior to being shipped to our customers. All of these testing measures are put in place to ensure that the Stratus meter is safe, reliable and accurate.

The Sensus Stratus® and iConA™ meters use a patented sensor with an output signal that is proportional to the rate of change of current. They also use an Analog Devices ADE7753 metering chip to carry out a digital integration of this signal prior to carrying out the energy calculations. This chip is used in tens of millions of electricity meters worldwide.

The Sensus meters have passed a series of harmonic tests in excess of IEC62053-21, at 30A (15% of Imax) with errors within class 0.2 accuracy limits. This includes a phase-fired test at 30A, which would correspond to controlling a 7.2kW load with a single dimmer. This test alone exceeds any typical consumer load.