Home Energy Meter Gen5 3A60

An Aeotec three clamp energy meter: the same Gen5 meter with three clamps instead of one.

• An Aeotec three clamp energy meter has two uses
• Each clamp reports on its own schedule
• Nothing is cut
• Two conditions before you order
• One supply figure published loosely

An Aeotec three clamp energy meter has two uses

An Aeotec three clamp energy meter has two quite different jobs, and which one you are buying it for decides how it gets wired.

On a three phase board it takes one clamp per phase, each reported separately, which is the only correct way to meter a three phase supply. On a single phase board it can instead meter three separate circuits, so the geyser, the air conditioning and everything else appear as three lines on a chart rather than one lump. Decide which before the electrician arrives.

Each clamp reports on its own schedule

Every clamp reports its own watts, kilowatt hours, volts and amps, and each has its own reporting interval.

That is more useful than it sounds. You can set a fast reading on the one circuit you are investigating without the other two flooding the Z-Wave network with traffic you do not need. On a mesh carrying sensors and switches as well, that restraint matters.

Nothing is cut

The clamps are split core: they open, clip around the cable and close again. The cable stays intact and the supply is never broken.

Aeotec quote 99 per cent accuracy, and each clamp reads 0 to 60A on the EU version. That is the figure to check against your incoming supply, not against the breaker rating.

Two conditions before you order

It is a Z-Wave device and needs a Z-Wave hub, so it belongs in a house already running one rather than being the reason to start.

And it is wired at the distribution board, so a licensed electrician does the fitting. On a three phase board that is not a suggestion. Radio is Z-Wave at 868MHz on the EU version.

One supply figure published loosely

Resellers publish the supply as 90 to 260V, 50 or 60Hz, while the voltage measuring range on the three phase version is given as 220 to 260V. We record both rather than flattening them into one number, because on a three phase installation the distinction is the electrician's to check.

If you only have a single incoming supply to meter, the one clamp version is cheaper and does the same job. If you are not running Z-Wave, the Shelly EM meters two circuits over plain Wi-Fi with no hub. Aeotec publish the meter at aeotec.com.