THE M-BUS STANDARD
In installations with centralized production, the need to allocate the costs basing on actual consumption requires to measure separately the energy used for heating and cooling and the volume of sanitary water and to transmit data reliably to those operators who use them.
The M-Bus (Meter-Bus) system was developed specifically to allow the exchange of consumption data collected by meters and has become the European standard for remote reading of energy meters. M-Bus is fully compliant with the European Standard EN 1434 on heat meters (Part 3: "Data exchange and interfaces").
How it works
When interrogated, the meters send the data to a concentrator that can let them available locally or remotely (via modem), depending on the needs of the individual installation. The system is characterized by integrity in the data transmission, obtained thanks to a very high immunity to interference, and for the optimal fulfillment of the special requirements imposed by battery-powered measurement devices.
M-Bus in the Giacomini system
The GE552 meters, that are in GE555 modules and GE556 satellites, are equipped with a standard interface for the M-Bus communication. The same interface is also present in the GE552 energy meters for use in boiler room. A GE552 M-Bus central unit regularly polls all the connected meters to collect consumption data, and let them available locally or remotely for the cost allocation.
Advantages
• Standard system for the transmission of consumption data• Communication protocol open and shared by several manufacturers
• Wide range of meters with integrated communication interface
• Possibility of other data transmission (water, gas, electricity, ...)
• Simple fieldbus with two-wire signal cable
• High immunity to interference
• Devices powered by bus cable
Further information about M-Bus
