Traditional Approach: Tariff is based on the occupied space, the user has no conception of energy saving and is unable to control their consumption.
The smart card reader is often placed at the living space, while the meter is lock away safe from tampering at the power panel. The prepaid card concept works very similarly to a phone card; insert card for power, remove card to cease power, and pay-as-you-go. The user needs only to purchase a card to use, the card reader recognizes the card not the person, as long as the card is recognized and has enough credits, then it can be used.
The cards do not need to be discarded after use, they can be reused simply by topping them up from a credit dispensing unit.
The choice of meter model to use is based on the phase/wire and current rating.
The model used will depend on the electrical system phase wire, the choices of which are: 1p2w, 3p4w.
The traditional way to bill is by having someone read the meters, which wastes a lot of time and effort, and also subject to much dispute, and there is also the risk of the tenant skipping out, leaving the landlord to foot the bill.
Having a prepaid card system in place eliminates the need for manual meter reading, computing the bill, and bill collection. It allows the landlord to be paid in advance, it is transparent and subject to less dispute. It completely eliminates the headache with bill collection.
This mode of billing is well suited to dormitories, rental apartments and officies, mall stores and market stores, and many others.
Example: During the mornings, the classroom is for student use; in the evenings, the same classroom is rented to the community college.
Approach: The new rate is changed through the credit dispenser when the card is topped up; the administrator does not need to roam around to update each reader with the new rate.