What is Electricity meter?
[[File:Taiwan Power electricity meters 5258-62 - 5258-65.jpg|thumb|An electric meter in [[Taiwan]]]] An '''electricity meter''' (or '''energy meter''') is a [[Machine|device]] that [[Measurement|measures]] the amount of [[electricity]] used by a [[house]] or [[business]]. Measurements are usually taken in [[kilowatt hour]]s (kWh). ==History== Electricity meters became popular when more and more houses were connected to electricity in the 1880s. Instead of charging the homes based on how many electricity loads they had, charging on how much electricity they used became more accurate and fair. ==Types of electricity meter== [[File:ISKRA ME100-D1A51-V12G12.JPG|thumb|Disassembled electricity meter]] ===Electromechanical meters=== This type electricity meter uses the [[force]] generated by [[Electric current|current]] when passing through [[magnetic field]] to rotate a spinning disk inside the meter. The disk is then turn the number to indicate how much electricity has been used which is recorded by the meter. ===Electronic meters=== This type of electricity meter converts electricity directly with an [[analogue-to-digital converter]] inside a [[microprocessor]] to get the exact electricity usage reading. ==Security== Electricity meters can easily be tampered with. This may allow the customers to use electricity for free. Tampering with electricity meters is illegal and can carry fines or legal actions. {{commonscat|Electricity meters (kWh)}} [[Category:Electricity]] [[Category:Measuring tools]] {{tech-stub}}