Analog Devices' Single-Chip Energy Meter ICs Cut Power Consumption Using Intelligent Battery Technology

Business Wire, Oct 10, 2006

ADE7100 and ADE7500 families combine advanced battery management, high levels of integration and easy connection to LCDs for a feature-rich, cost-effective single-chip energy metering solution.

ADE7100 and ADE7500 Energy Meter ICs

NORWOOD, Mass. -- Analog Devices, Inc. (NYSE: ADI), the market leader in energy metering solutions, is introducing two families of single-chip energy meter ICs that combine intelligent battery management and ADI's innovative signal processing technology to address the need of the world's electricity markets for feature-rich, highly reliable meters. Increasingly, solid-state, failure-resistant energy meters, such as those enabled by Analog Devices, are replacing aging electro-mechanical systems by providing consistently dependable measurement and new functions, like remote meter-reading. ADI's new ADE7100 and ADE7500 energy meter SoC (system-on-chip) families include devices with intelligent battery modes that allow the meters to maintain the time, sense temperature changes, run the LCD (liquid crystal display) read-out, and perform other critical system functions, while using at least 40 percent less power than competitive solutions. Based on Analog Devices' field-proven ADE energy measurement core, which has been designed into more than 175 million energy meters worldwide, the highly integrated SoC devices perform functions previously requiring as many as six discrete ICs and further extend ADI's portfolio of industry-leading energy metering solutions.

"For electricity meter designers who require a better solution to the growing demand for feature- rich, highly reliable LCD energy meters, the ADE7100 and ADE7500 families provide an accurate, low-power and intelligently integrated solution for single-phase energy meters," said Lu Han Xi, chief engineer at energy meter manufacturer Linyang Electronics in China. "We look to Analog Devices' for leadership based on its legacy of designing metering solutions that have excellent accuracy and reliability."

Enabling Advanced Meter-reading, Billing, and Load Shedding Services

The ADE7100 and ADE7500 energy meter families combine Analog Devices' proven energy measurement core with a microprocessor, on-chip flash memory, LCD driver, real-time clock (RTC) and intelligent battery management circuitry. The result is a high-quality, cost-effective solution that is less susceptible to system failures and enables advanced services like remote meter-reading, time-of-use billing, which requires power companies to measure energy consumption according to hourly use, and load shedding, which is the act of cutting off the electric current on certain lines when demand outstrips supply.

"Analog Devices' leadership position gives it a unique perspective on the needs of our energy metering customers - both in terms of the technology that gets them to market faster and at lower cost, as well as the next-generation features that keep them competitive," said Pat O'Doherty, product line director, Precision Signal Processing Group, Analog Devices. "The industry shipped over 100 million energy meters last year, and as that number continues to climb, we believe the ADE7100 and ADE7500 families will meet the growing requirements for efficient, highly integrated solutions."

Ideal for Energy Meters with LCD Displays

The highly integrated ADE7100 and ADE7500 families provide an SoC solution for energy meters with LCD-displays. The devices combine ADI's metering core, derived from the ADE7755, with intelligent battery management circuitry consisting of an internal battery switch and a stand-alone state machine. With a low battery-mode current consumption of 1.2 microamps, the devices reduce power use by at least 40 percent in battery mode compared to competitive solutions, while still allowing the meters to maintain critical functionsCosuch as monitoring temperature and main supply voltageCoduring power outages.

The installation of energy meters with LCD displays continues to accelerate globally. To address this trend, the ADE7100 and ADE7500 families integrate an LCD driver that meets industrial temperature specifications for all outdoor climate conditions. On-chip charge-pumps controlled by a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) allow designers to easily adjust LCD contrast by setting the drive voltage up to 5.4V with a power supply of 3.3V, which ensures the display is clearly visible even as temperature ranges fluctuate between -40 degrees C to 85 degrees C.

Analog Devices' energy metering core includes active, reactive and apparent energy calculations, as well as voltage and current rms (root-mean-square) measurements. Several power supervisory features, such as SAG detection, peak and zero crossing, are built into the core to simplify energy meter design. The devices' microprocessor includes a single-cycle 8052 core, an RTC with full battery backup and a choice of a UART (universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter), SPI (serial peripheral interface) or I2C interface. The ADE7100 family of products feature a second current input for tamper detection.