Question About Meter Readings

[AlexJ2406]

Hey guys! So, I'm trying perform a load analysis on an existing service that we're going to be adding load to and I'm not too familiar with how to pull the information off meters. After doing some research, it seems that the first three characters should read "03A" and this code means that the reading shown is the peak kva. I attached a picture of what the reading was. it's showing 1.84kva.

this is a 208v, 3 phase, 1600amp serivce, so there is a ct involved. The calculated connected load from the previous load analysis shows the connected load at 1440amps, i know the actual operating and peak load will be lower than that, but 1.84 kva at 208v, comes out to about 5 amps.

After doing more research, it looks like when a ct is involved there's a multiplier involved. Am i correct in assuming the multiplier is the "X80" that's written on a sticker near the top? So the actual peak kva should be 1.84kva X 80 = 147.2kva? At 3phase, 208V that comes out to about 409 amps.

Am I going about this the right way or am I missing something here? 409 amps for a connected load of 1440 amps sounds a little off, but I'm not sure that something like this is too uncommon.

Any input is much appreciated!

Thanks guys!

Alex

 

[mopowr steve]

I believe your correct, you apply the multiplier.
I recently had a ct meter installed and at first did not notice the multiplier listed on the label. I thought something was not wired correctly with meter but after noticing the multiplier it all made sense and jived.

 

[Hv&Lv]

Your reading is correct, but you don’t know when that peak was reset. That could be for that day only if you hit the billing cycle reset just right.
demand meters are reset monthly for demand billing.
Call the POCO with the meter #, they can give you the 1 year peak.

 

[Cow]

We call the power co and get it from them.

I've had some power co's tell me over the phone what the peak was in the last 12 mos if I just need a quick ballpark, but if it's something an inspector needs to see, you'll have to get the power co. to send over something in written form.

I did one a few days ago for seven meters on a mixed use building, and they gave me the last 18 mos. of peak demand all laid out on a spreadsheet. Suffice to say, I was impressed.

 

[kwired]

Your reading is correct, but you don’t know when that peak was reset. That could be for that day only if you hit the billing cycle reset just right.
demand meters are reset monthly for demand billing.
Call the POCO with the meter #, they can give you the 1 year peak.

I agree, if it is a peak reading you need to know the interval at which it is reset as well as minimum interval that gets looked at to know more about what was recorded.

 

[meternerd]

Most metering CT's have a TRF (thermal rating factor) of 2.0, meaning a CT with a multiplier of 80 is a 400:5 CT. That means that it can carry a load of 800A per phase and not overheat. I'd say the service was sized for your load, so the numbers make sense.

 

[AlexJ2406]

Thanks for the input guys!! After going through the comments, I called the POCO which in this case was centerpoint. I was previously told by a few colleagues that Centerpoint now requires account information in order to give out meter reading information so I didnt even think to bother calling, but after seeing yalls comments I decided to give it a try anyways. They gave me the max peak kva of the year, which was about 215kva, and they did confirm 80 was the multiplier. They went ahead and explained what most of yall explained on how to calculate the peak kva from the meter which was just multiplying the reading and the multiplier.

Moral of the story, dont always believe what your colleagues tell you haha.

Thanks guys!

Alex