Analog Devices' Single-Chip Energy Meter ICs Cut Power Consumption Using Intelligent Battery Technology.

ADE7100 and ADE7500 families combine advanced battery management, high levels of integration and easy connection to LCDs for a feature-rich, cost-effective single-chip energy metering solution.

ADE7100 and ADE7500 Energy Meter ICs

NORWOOD, Mass. -- Analog Devices, Inc. (NYSE: ADI), the market leader in energy metering solutions, is introducing two families of single-chip energy meter ICs that combine intelligent battery management and ADI's innovative signal processing technology to address the need of the world's electricity markets for feature-rich, highly reliable meters. Increasingly, solid-state, failure-resistant energy meters, such as those enabled by Analog Devices, are replacing aging electro-mechanical systems by providing consistently dependable measurement and new functions, like remote meter-reading. ADI's new ADE7100 and ADE7500 energy meter SoC (system-on-chip) families include devices with intelligent battery modes that allow the meters to maintain the time, sense temperature changes, run the LCD (liquid crystal display) read-out, and perform other critical system functions, while using at least 40 percent less power than competitive solutions. Based on Analog Devices' field-proven ADE energy measurement core, which has been designed into more than 175 million energy meters worldwide, the highly integrated SoC devices perform functions previously requiring as many as six discrete ICs and further extend ADI's portfolio of industry-leading energy metering solutions.

"For electricity meter designers who require a better solution to the growing demand for feature- rich, highly reliable LCD energy meters, the ADE7100 and ADE7500 families provide an accurate, low-power and intelligently integrated solution for single-phase energy meters," said Lu Han Xi, chief engineer at energy meter manufacturer Linyang Electronics in China. "We look to Analog Devices' for leadership based on its legacy of designing metering solutions that have excellent accuracy and reliability."

Enabling Advanced Meter-reading, Billing, and Load Shedding Services

The ADE7100 and ADE7500 energy meter families combine Analog Devices' proven energy measurement core with a microprocessor, on-chip flash memory, LCD driver, real-time clock (RTC) and intelligent battery management circuitry. The result is a high-quality, cost-effective solution that is less susceptible to system failures and enables advanced services like remote meter-reading, time-of-use billing, which requires power companies to measure energy consumption according to hourly use, and load shedding, which is the act of cutting off the electric current on certain lines when demand outstrips supply.

"Analog Devices' leadership position gives it a unique perspective on the needs of our energy metering customers - both in terms of the technology that gets them to market faster and at lower cost, as well as the next-generation features that keep them competitive," said Pat O'Doherty, product line director, Precision Signal Processing Group, Analog Devices. "The industry shipped over 100 million energy meters last year, and as that number continues to climb, we believe the ADE7100 and ADE7500 families will meet the growing requirements for efficient, highly integrated solutions."

Ideal for Energy Meters with LCD Displays

The highly integrated ADE7100 and ADE7500 families provide an SoC solution for energy meters with LCD-displays. The devices combine ADI's metering core, derived from the ADE7755, with intelligent battery management circuitry consisting of an internal battery switch and a stand-alone state machine. With a low battery-mode current consumption of 1.2 microamps, the devices reduce power use by at least 40 percent in battery mode compared to competitive solutions, while still allowing the meters to maintain critical functionsCosuch as monitoring temperature and main supply voltageCoduring power outages.

The installation of energy meters with LCD displays continues to accelerate globally. To address this trend, the ADE7100 and ADE7500 families integrate an LCD driver that meets industrial temperature specifications for all outdoor climate conditions. On-chip charge-pumps controlled by a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) allow designers to easily adjust LCD contrast by setting the drive voltage up to 5.4V with a power supply of 3.3V, which ensures the display is clearly visible even as temperature ranges fluctuate between -40 degrees C to 85 degrees C.

Analog Devices' energy metering core includes active, reactive and apparent energy calculations, as well as voltage and current rms (root-mean-square) measurements. Several power supervisory features, such as SAG detection, peak and zero crossing, are built into the core to simplify energy meter design. The devices' microprocessor includes a single-cycle 8052 core, an RTC with full battery backup and a choice of a UART (universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter), SPI (serial peripheral interface) or I2C interface. The ADE7100 family of products feature a second current input for tamper detection.

Availability and Pricing

Four products in the ADE7100 (ADE7166, ADE7169) and ADE7500 (ADE7566, ADE7569) families are sampling now with full production scheduled for February 2007. The devices are available in 64-lead LQFPs (low-profile quad flat packages) and are priced under $3.00 per unit in 1,000-piece quantities. For more information, visit http://www.analog.com/pr/energymeter.

Analog Devices in Energy Measurement

With more than 175 million energy meters using ADI's technology deployed worldwide, Analog Devices has delivered more energy measurement solutions than any other semiconductor company. Superior in quality, reliability, and performance, Analog Devices' ADE energy metering ICs combine analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) with fixed-function digital signal processors (DSPs) to perform critical measurements, while providing unparalleled functionality and ease-of-use. Analog Devices offers a broad range of semiconductor solutions that solve design challenges in every aspect of metering systems, including energy measurement; data and power management; user interface; and RF, GSM/GPRS, and power line carrier communication solutions. Analog Devices' ADE ICs are ideal for measuring watts (kWh), reactive energy (VAR), RMS and power quality with the highest accuracy in single-phase and polyphase revenue meters and industrial instruments. Analog Devices also offers its proprietary brand of single- and polyphase energy metering chipsets and DSP-based metering engines as complete, licensable solutions. For more information, visit http://www.analog.com/energymeter.

About Analog Devices

Innovation, performance, and excellence are the cultural pillars on which Analog Devices has built one of the most long-standing, high-growth companies within the technology sector. Acknowledged industry-wide as the world leader in data conversion and signal conditioning technology, Analog Devices serves over 60,000 customers around the world, representing virtually all types of electronics equipment. Celebrating more than 40 years as a leading global manufacturer of high-performance integrated circuits used in analog and digital signal processing applications, Analog Devices, Inc. is headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts, and employs approximately 8,900 people worldwide. It has manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, Ireland, and the Philippines. Analog Devices' common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and ADI is included in the S&P 500 Index.