Contents Index:

The complete guide from our old website: Available Here - Has more pictures and videos

Purchasing

Choosing Your Meter
Choosing your CTs (Current Transformers)
Choosing Enclosures or Mounts
Choosing your Communication Converter

Installing

120 volts 2-wire
120/240 volts 3-wire
3-phase 3-wire
3-phase 4-wire
Pulse Water and Gas
RS-485 Twisted Pair Wire

Purchasing:

Choosing Your Meter

BASIC METERS:

If you want a simple read on the face meter we have 3 options for you:

EKM-15IDS -- 120 volt

The wires being read pass through the body of the meter. Wires must be less than 3/8" diameter.
The LCD screen will display total kWh (kilowatt hours) only
DIN Rail Mount

See the EKM-15IDS page on our website: Available Here

EKM-25IDS -- 120/240 volt (most common household current in the US)

The wires being read pass through the body of the meter, wires must be less than 3/8" diameter
The LCD screen will display total kWh (kilowatt hours) only
DIN Rail Mount

See the EKM-25IDS page on our website: Available Here

EKM-15E -- 120 volt

External CT (sometimes easier to instal)

The LCD screen will display total kWh (kilowatt hours) only

DIN Rail Mount

See the EKM-15E page on our website: Available Here

You can mount the CT on the wire in either direction and the red and black wire can go into either CT port (Port 1 and 3)

The "SO" in the wiring diagram refers to the Pulse Output of this meter. The Pulse Output can be read and counted from up to 200 feet away to determine how many kWh have been used. This meter pulses at a rate of 1000 pulses per kWh.

This meter can be wired to read 240 volts. To do this you must always power the meter with 120 volts. You will meter the 2 hot legs of a 240 volt system. Pass one hot leg through the CT in one direction and the other hot leg through the CT in the other direction. Or you can order 2 CTs and put them in the same CT port on the thin meter. The CTs must be facing in 2 different directions.

SMART METERS:

If you want to read your meters with a computer or over the internet, or if you just want a lot more metered information:

EKM-Omnimeter --Universal Voltage Meter

Our EKM Omnimeter can meter any electrical system that is commonly used in the world. It can operate on 50 or 60 Hz, 120 to 480 volts, 1-phase or 3-phase, it is accurate to 0.5%, and can meter from 100 to 5000 amps.

See the EKM-Omnimeter page on our website: Available Here

EKM-Omnimeter: Spec Sheet

Can Be Configured for these voltages: 120 volt 2-wire, 230 volt 2-wire (foreign), 120/240 volt 3-wire, 3-phase 3-wire 120-400 volts, 3-phase 4-wire 120 to 480 volts

Uses External CTs: Available Here

RS-485 Communications -- 256 meters per string up to 4000 feet long

California Type Approval: Revenue Grade Accuracy Certificate

EKM-25EDSP-N v.2

120/240 volt meter with 3 Pulse Counters

If you want to meter 120/240 volt electricity and meter both water and gas remotely this is the meter for you.

120/240 volts

External CT 200 amp 26.6mA CTs

RS-485 Communications -- 256 meters per string up to 4000 feet long

See the EKM-25EDSP-N page on our website: Available Here

353-EDM-N v.2

3-phase 3-wire 480 volts (for lower voltages you can use this meter, or the EKM-Omnimeter) - you will need 2 CTs

200 Amps - if you want to meter higher amperages you can do this but you will need to use a multiplier on the watts and kWh registers.

Uses external CTs: Available Here

RS-485 Communications -- 256 meters per string up to 4000 feet long.

All of our meters are non-resettable by design. As part of the requirements for revenue grade metering these meters cannot be reset to zero.

See the EKM-353EDM-N page on our website: Available Here

Choosing Your CTs (Current Transformers)

Know your amperage requirements

Measure the outside diameter of your wires -- This is the best way to determine which CT size to use. Going by AWG gauges can be misleading if the manufacturer uses extra thick wire insulation.

Solid Core or Split Core -- Solid core are less expensive but are a bit more difficult to install, they require that you disconnect the wires being read and slip the CT over the wire.

Split Core CTs are more expensive but they very easily just snap around the wires being read. Even though the Split Core are more expensive you may save money in labor in the install with the Split Core in some cases. These CTs have a built in latch, but is a good idea to secure these CTs with a ziptie to ensure closure.

CTs can be very oversized. It is OK to use small wire passing through a large CT. The CT can be very loose on the wire.

CTs come with wire leads that are 2 meters in length.

Most of our CTs have an output of 26.6 mA at full capacity.

We have CTs from 200 to 3000 amps in stock: Available Here

Our meters come pre-configured for use with 200 amp CTs, if you are going to use 400 amp CTs or larger you will want to be aware that you must change the CT ratio inside of the meter, this is done over RS-485 with the EKM Reader Software. If you do not have the ability to change your CT ratio, let us know before we ship your meter to you that you would like the CT ratio inside your meters altered and we will do it for you.

Choosing Enclosures or Mounts:

We always recommend that you install your meter in an enclosure. If you are to use your own enclosure we recommend that you use a $2 35mm DIN rail piece to mount the attach the meter to the electrical box.

Water Tight Enclosure -- This enclosure comes with a DIN Rail Piece it has 4 screws in the corners of the lid. You can read the meter on the face through the transparent lid. If tampering is a concern a seal can be installed by drilling a hole through 1 or more of the corner screws and affixing a seal.

Indoor Enclosure Kit -- This kit allows you to surface mount or flush mount your meter. It is a clean install, the box has threaded knock outs for attaching conduit. The kit comes with a DIN Rail piece for mounting.

See the Enclosures on our website: Available Here

Choosing your Communication Converter:

If you would like to communicate with your smart meter with a computer with have 3 options.

You only need 1 converter to connect up to 256 meters on 4000 feet of wire

EKM- iSerial -- Our most highly recommended converter, this converter has many advantages - high reliability, universal access (you can read your meters from any number of computers within your building or over the internet.

See the iSerial on our website: Available Here

RS-232 to RS-485 Converter -- If you have a PC and have a DB-9 port on your computer. It is very simple, cheap and reliable.

See the RS-232 to RS-485 Converter on our website: Available Here

USB to RS-485 --We have a newly redesigned USB converter that uses a much more powerful FTDI Serial converter chip. This will work with all of our meters including the faster communications of the EKM-Omnimeter.

See the USB to RS-485 Converter on our website: Available Here

Installation:

High Voltage Wiring:

Always turn the power off before installation -installation should only be performed by a qualified electrician

These meters should be installed in a protected location. Such as a sub panel or electrical enclosure. If you are planning on using your own enclosure, we supply 3” pieces of DIN rail ($2) that make for an easy install. Once your meter is properly wired, you can clip the meter to this DIN rail. We also provide indoor and outdoor enclosures: Available Here

Each meter draws less than 1 watt of power

Our EKM-Omnimeter is just one meter model that can be used to meter a range of metering system types and amperages. Use the diagrams and videos below to demonstrate proper wiring for each electrical system.

120 Volt 2-wire or 230 Volt 2-wire (foreign) EKM-Omnimeter Wiring Diagram and Video:

120/240 Volt 3-wire (2 hots and a neutral) EKM-Omnimeter Wiring Diagram and Video:

3-phase 3-wire (3 hots only) EKM-Omnimeter Wiring Diagram and Video:

3-phase 4-wire (3 hots and a neutral) EKM-Omnimeter Wiring Diagram and Video:

Pulse Counting Electric Meter for Water and Gas:

EKM-25ESDSP-N Pulse Input Meter for Remote Metering of Water and Gas install as a 120/240 volt meter

The pulse output wires go to ports 14, 15 and 16 on the meter for the 3 separate pulse inputs, all of the ground wires go to port 13. These wires can be up to 200 feet long.

Water and Gas Meter plumbing installation is a simple matter of inline plumbing for a qualified plumber.

EKM-25EDSP-N Pulse Counting Electric Meter: Available Here

Pulse Output Water Meters: Available Here

Pulse Output Gas Meters: Available Here

Voltage Reference:

The electrical meter needs a power connection coming from the main lines you are metering. This can be 16 AWG stranded copper wire. The meter itself draws less than a watt of power. A 1amp inline fuse is recommended in the hot lines that power the meter. This would be a precaution to protect your meter from spikes that might cause damage.

For the voltage reference, CT wires and communication wires: Make sure when you are connecting this wire to the meter, to first back off the screw all the way then insert the wire then tighten down the screw, sometimes it is hard to notice you have the wire on the wrong side of the terminal clamp.

CT 1 Should be on Line 1 and the meter should also get its LIne 1 voltage reference from Line 1, Same for Line 2, etc.

Wiring diagrams are laser printed on the body of the meter and are supplied with the spec sheet for each meter.

CT Wires and Electrical wires should be protected from the elements and the sun by using electrical conduit. A meter enclosure is also recommended.

Communications (RS-485) Install:

RS-485 Wire -- We use twisted pair wire, you can find 4 pairs of 24 AWG twisted wire inside of a CAT5 cable. CAT5 is perfect because it is easy to find, comes in 1000 foot rolls, its cheap, and easy to pull the wire for installations. Stranded CAT5 is the best, but solid copper can also be used. Use one of the twisted pairs, then you will have some extra wires to use in the future. RS-485 allows you to daisy chain up to 256 meters together on up to 4000 feet of wire. Use one twisted pair of wire for your RS-485 system. One wire is RS-485 A+ (solid orange) and the other is RS-485 B- (white with orange). Make sure when you are connecting this wire to the meter, to first back off the screw all the way then insert the wire then tighten down the screw, sometimes it is hard to notice you have the wire on the wrong side of the terminal clamp. For very long runs in electrically noisy environments, it will be better to use shielded twisted pair wires. Some installations require a 120 ohm terminating resistor, we have not found this to be important for most installations.

Video showing how up to 256 of the communicating smart meters can be connected to one communication converter over RS-485:

Twisted pair wire connections:

iSerial: Connect RS-485 A+ on all meters to T+ on iSerial, Connect RS-485 B- on all meters to T- on iSerial, GND is not necessary.

RS-232 Converter: Connect RS-485 A+ on all meters to A on RS-232 Converter, Connect RS-485 B- on all meters to B on RS-232 Converter

USB Converter: Our new tiny USB Converter works well with all meters, A+ connects to A+ on the meters. B- on the USB converter connects to B- on the meter.

See our RS-485 Converters: Available Here

485Bee:

Our 485Bee will create a wireless link and replace the wired RS-485 twisted pair link that is normally used. The 485Bee can be located anywhere along the wire. You will need at least 2 of the 485Bees in any system to create the radio link. You can have clusters of meters connected to each 485Bee.

See the 485Bee page: Available Here

EKM-iSerial setup:

Plug an ethernet cable into the iSerial and into your router or LAN. Connect power to your iSerial. Type: 192.168.1.125 into the URL or your web browser (this is the default IP address). This will take you to a page that asks for your User ID and Password. Default User ID: admin Default Password: admin

For EKM-Omnimeter v.3 meters make sure the settings are: RS-485, 9600 baud, 7 data bit, even parity, 1 stop bit

For all other meters (v.2) make sure the settings are: RS-485, 1200 baud, 7 data bit, even parity, 1 stop bit

You can choose to change the default IP address if you choose, be sure to keep track of the new IP address as you will need it to read your meters with the EKM Reader and may need it in the future to access your EKM-iSerial.

More information is in the user manual for the EKM-iSerial: Available Here

Change the serial settings under the UART menu.

Do not click on “Firmware Update” or “Bootloader Update”! This will make your iSerial unusable and we have no way to restore the iSerial for you. Only do this is you are sure you know what you are doing.

Reading:

Reading on the Face

More information on the meter values that are displayed on the faces of our meters: Available Here

EKM Reader Software

We have free EKM Reader software (PC, Mac, Linux) on our website for you to try. If you download it on our website you can see that it is possible to read our meters over the internet here at EKM Metering. Once the EKM Reader software is installed, do not change anything, click "Read all Meters", you will read our meters here at EKM. The free version will also let you read your own meters locally or over the internet, with the proper converter.

Download the free version of the v.3 EKM Reader: Available Here

You can also try the older free version v.2 EKM Reader: Available Here

We also have a $30 version of our software (PC, Mac, Linux) that will let you log the meter use. You can also set it up to make a monthly bill or report on any day of the month. The software can automatically generate a bill and email it to your tenant / user.

Download the Paid Version of the EKM Reader: Available Here

SETUP TO BE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE:

PC/WINDOWS USERS:

1. Download the EKM Reader software

The icon for the EKM Reader software is a Red round circle

2. Open the EKM Reader

Open the EKM Reader Software - don't change anything at first, click "read all meters" If you have an internet connection, you will read the preconfigured meters here at EKM. If you see an "OK" at the lower right hand side of the screen, this indicates a successful read. An "X" indicates a bad read. You can use these preconfigured meters to help set up your own meters.

3. Set up your communication devices - go to File>Preferences> COM Port Setup

You will see the two top lines are preconfigured for the 2 meters here at EKM. Each line represents a communication device. Each device can support up to 256 meters.

The line number is the number you will use later in the main window for the TCP# or the COM#

Select your meter model from the drop down menu. The EKM-Omnimeter is v.3 all other EKM Smart Meters are v.2

Select your communication device. If you select iSerial (or TCP/IP, they are the same) then you will enter the IP address and port number.

Your IP address of the iSerial is preconfigured to 192.168.1.125. You can go to this address in you web browser to make changes to the IP address or the Port.

When you are in your iSerial- under UART make sure the settings are 1200 baud for v.2 meters and 9600 baud for v.3 meters. Also the settings for these meters should be: RS-485, 7 data bits, Even Parity, 1 Stop Bit, No Flow Control

The COM Port Setup window settings should be complete, click "Save". Note which COM device (string of meters) is on which line #. You will use this number later.

4. Main Window Setup - Under the "Read One Meter" Button enter the meter number of the first meter. This is the number that is printed on the face of the meter, right under the LCD screen.

Add the TCP#: this is the number you had noted from before, associated with the line # in the COM Port Setup Window.

Click "Read One Meter"

The meter data should successfully enter into the fields

5. Setting Multiple Meters - Go to the Edit Menu Click "Add Row Below" - This will give you a new line in the lower list box. You can then enter your COM Device #, Meter Location or Name, and Meter Number.

Do this for all of your meters.

Click "Read All Meters" - If everything is setup correctly, an OK will appear to the right of each meter. This indicates a successful read for each meter.

6. Troubleshooting Error Messages:

“TCP/IP Unable to connect” -- This means your computer is not accessing the iSerial properly, IP settings in the iSerial or IP settings in the EKM Reader may be the cause of this error. Or there is an issue with your internet connection or LAN connection.

“Unable to get a reading from this meter number” -- This means you are communicating through the iSerial or Other Converter, but there is a setting that is wrong inside the iSerial, or the meter number you gave is wrong, or the RS-485 twisted pair wire is connected wrong.

MAC OSX USERS:

1. Download the software

The icon for the EKM Reader software is a Red round circle

2. Open the EKM Reader

3. Set up your communication devices - go to EKM Reader>Preferences> COM Port Setup