Roco Plug-In Energy Meter - 230V / 16A

When a building is dried out after water damage, the electricity that runs the dehumidifiers, drying mats and fans is drawn through whatever socket happens to be nearest — and billed to the property owner or tenant, not to the insurer. Recovering that cost comes down to one thing: a consumption figure that holds up when it is questioned. This plug-in energy meter produces it by sitting directly in the supply lead of the drying equipment and counting only what that equipment uses.

The meter is built into the cable itself. A Schuko plug goes into the wall socket, a Schuko coupling feeds the equipment, and the metering element between them records consumption in kWh on a mechanical roller counter with no reset function. Because the meter is MID-compliant, its readings are valid for billing purposes — the same legal basis on which campsites, construction sites and agricultural holdings invoice electricity to third parties.

Purpose — turning drying-equipment consumption into a documented figure

A dehumidifier or heating mat left running for three weeks can consume several hundred kWh. Without a dedicated meter, the only evidence available is an estimate: nameplate power multiplied by assumed running hours. Estimates are precisely what loss adjusters reduce, and in Scandinavia in particular insurers routinely require an actual consumption measurement before reimbursing the electricity used during a drying job.

A kWh meter fitted in the supply lead removes the argument. The counter is read and photographed when the equipment is switched on, and again when it is removed; the difference is the consumption, expressed in the unit the insurer already settles in. Because the roller counter cannot be set back to zero, the reading cannot be challenged as having been reset part-way through the job.

How it works in practice

The meter is fitted between the socket and the equipment. There is no installation work, no electrician and no interruption to the drying setup — the machine is simply plugged into the meter instead of the wall. The 1.5 m of flexible polyurethane cable on each side gives enough slack to keep the meter body clear of a wet floor, and the moulded bracket lets it hang from a nail, a hook or a scaffold tube at reading height.

The reading window sits in the top face of the housing, so the counter can be read without unplugging anything or opening the enclosure. Where several machines run on the same job, one meter per machine keeps the figures separable per room or per stage of drying; where the whole setup is fed from a single point, one meter on that feed covers everything downstream of it.

Key features

• MID-compliant metering — the reading is accepted for billing and claim settlement, not merely indicative
• Non-resettable roller counter — the total cannot be zeroed, which is what makes the figure defensible
• IP44 housing in high-impact plastic — tolerates the splashing and condensation of an active drying room
• 1.5 m polyurethane cable at each end — keeps the meter body off wet floors and lets it hang at eye level
• Integrated hanging bracket — the meter stays where it was placed instead of lying in the water it is measuring
• Operating range −25 °C to +55 °C — usable in unheated buildings, crawl spaces and outdoor site work
• S0 pulse output at 1000 imp/kWh — allows the meter to feed a data logger where continuous recording is required
• Analogue roller counter — readable at any time, with no display battery to fail during a long job

Certification & Approvals

• MID-compliant and suitable for billing purposes
• Accuracy class B
• Approved for insurance claims, campsites, construction sites and agricultural holdings
• Tested to DIN EN 50525-2, DIN VDE 0620-2-1, IEC 60309 and IEC EN 50470-1
• IP44 — protected against solid foreign bodies and splashing water

Technical Specifications

• Meter type: single-phase alternating current meter
• Rated voltage: 230 V, 50 Hz
• Rated current: 16 A
• Maximum load: 3.5 kW
• Current range: 0.25–5 A (max. 45 A)
• Accuracy class: B
• Display: analogue roller counter, 5+1 digits
• Counting range: up to 99,999.9 kWh
• Reset: counter cannot be set back to zero
• Pulse output: S0, 1000 imp/kWh
• Operating temperature: −25 °C to +55 °C
• Protection rating: IP44
• Housing: high-impact special plastic with viewing window
• Cable: 1.5 m at each end, polyurethane H07BQ-F 3G2.5
• Input: Schuko plug
• Output: Schuko coupling with protective cap
• Supplied with: hanging bracket

Applications

• Metering dehumidifiers, drying mats and fans during water damage restoration, where consumption has to be documented for the insurer
• Sub-metering construction drying equipment so the electricity can be invoiced to the correct party
• Recording the running cost of heating mats and heating blankets on a job-by-job basis
• Billing electricity at campsites, marinas and pitches supplied from a shared connection
• Metering site huts, containers and temporary distribution boards on construction sites
• Agricultural buildings where a contractor or sub-tenant draws power from the main supply

Operational Requirements

The assembly is rated for single-phase 230 V loads up to 3.5 kW. Equipment above that rating must be fed through an appropriately rated circuit rather than through this meter, and the Schuko connectors define the interface — no adaptor should be used to connect a higher-rated plug type.

IP44 means protection against splashing water, not immersion. The unit must not be laid in standing water, submerged, or left where water can pool around the connectors. Hang it clear of the floor using the supplied bracket, and fit the protective cap to the coupling whenever the outlet is not in use.

Take and record the counter reading before the equipment is switched on. A reading taken only at the end of a job documents the total lifetime consumption of the meter, not the consumption of that job — which is the single most common reason a submitted figure is rejected.

Selection guidance

Choose this meter wherever the consumption figure has to survive being questioned: insurance claims, sub-tenant billing, contractor recharges. Where the aim is only to see roughly what a machine draws, a simple plug-in power monitor is cheaper — but it is not MID-compliant and its reading carries no weight in a settlement. For loads above 3.5 kW, or for three-phase equipment, a three-phase meter installed in the distribution board is the correct solution.