Not all Prepaid Meters are the same. Different types of properties require different types of prepaid meters.
We’ve provided a simple and easy to understand guide on How to Choose the Right Prepaid Meter.
In order to choose the correct Prepaid Electricity Sub Meter, you will need to know how many lines of electricity are being supplied to you. A line of electricity is a cable carrying the electricity to your premises. These lines of electricity are connected to a Distribution Board in your premises – see below picture of a simple Distribution Board.
These lines of electricity are known as Phases. In order to know what Prepaid Meter you will need to know how many Phases of electricity are being fed into your Distribution Board.
If you don’t know how many Phases are coming into your Distribution Board then click on the “Single & Three Phase Distribution Boards Explained” below.
These lines of electricity (Phases) come into your premises and get connected to the Main Circuit Breaker in the DB. If your Distribution Board has one or two Circuit Breakers joined together as your Main Switch, then you have a Single Phase (One line of power) supply of electricity into your premises. If you have two Circuit Breakers joined together the second Breaker is your Neutral line in. Sometimes a three-phase circuit breaker only has one switch while having three lines of electricity connected through it. If you are still not sure speak to our online consultant or send an email to us via our “Speak to a Consultant” facility.
If your Distribution Board has three or four Circuit Breakers joined together as your Main Switch, then you have a Three Phase (three lines of power) supply of electricity into your premises. If you have four Circuit Breakers joined together the fourth Breaker is your Neutral line in. Sometimes a three-phase circuit breaker only has one switch while having three lines of electricity connected through it. If you are still not sure speak to our online consultant or send an email to us via our “Speak to a Consultant” facility.
Now that you know what Phase supply your premises has its time to decide if an Integrated or Split Prepaid Meter is the right meter for you.
An Integrated Prepaid Meter is a Meter that has its Keypad integrated into the overall unit and not as a separate unit from the meter itself like the Split Meter.
There are two types of Split Meters, Wired and Wireless Split Meters.
If you want the Prepaid Meter to sit next to or below your Distribution Board, you would use an Integrated Prepaid Electricity Meter.
If you want the Prepaid Meter to be separate from its Keypad and secured in a lockable meter box or room away from its keypad then a Split Prepaid Meter is for you.
There are two types of Split Prepaid Electricity Meters – Wired and Wireless. Your choice as to which of these would best suit you would depend upon the cost of each, installation costs and the distances between the component parts.
Amperage: The strength of electrical current (a flow of electricity) needed to make a piece of electrical equipment work. The more force needed to get equipment to function the higher the Amperage needed.
It is very unlikely that a Domestic property will have an Amperage of over 100A, but when it comes to commercial and industrial properties this becomes more of an issue of concern.
There is no need to bother you with complicated electrical concepts and terms here; all that is needed is to let you know how to find out if the meter you want can tolerate the Amperage supplied to your Main Switch.
And it is very easy to find out 😊
If you look at your Main Switch you will find it’s Amperage written, in most cases, on the head or base of the Circuit Breaker, eg 60A is 60 Amps.
A Prepaid Water Meter is installed on the mains feeding the property/area you wish to be monitored/run by the meter. The mains are rerouted through the Prepaid Water Meter so that it can control the water supplying that specific area by opening and closing its internal valve.
In order to install a Prepaid Water Meter, there must be a dedicated water main feeding that specific area you want to be monitored. Let’s say the meter is for a cottage on your property that you want to be placed on Prepaid Water – the water main for the cottage must not be supplying any other area of the property, like a garden tap for the use of the main house, in order to be accurate with the charging of your tenant for their use of the property’s overall water consumption.
There are two types of Prepaid Water Meters:
The Wall Mounted Water Meter is ideal for installations where the water meter can be attached to a wall that is close to the water mains that it will be monitoring. This allows for the meter to be mounted on the wall and the water mains cut and rerouted through the Prepaid Water Meter thereby monitoring all the water supplying the property intended to be placed on Prepaid Water services.
The Above Ground Water Meter is ideally suited where there is no nearby wall to attach the meter to and the mains are running under the open garden grassed or soil area. The Above Ground Water Meter is dug into the ground where the water mains are situated and attached to the mains. The soil is backfilled leaving two-thirds of the meter below the ground and one third exposed above the ground.