High-Fidelity Low-Cost Electronic Current Sensor for Utility Power Metering

The design of a high-fidelity electronic current sensor for utility power-metering applications is described. The sensor is based around a current transformer with a low-permeability core material in order to yield a high dc tolerance and improved immunity to extraneous dc magnetic fields. The transformer is configured with a flux-change sense winding and feedforward of the voltage developed across the secondary winding and burden resistances. This minimizes the error due to magnetizing current which would otherwise be high with a low-permeability core material. Experimental results are given for a 60-A sensor designed for single-phase 50- and 60-Hz systems. Measured phase error is less than 0.6° at 50 Hz with 60-A dc current superimposed onto the current under measurement. No Hall-effect sensors or core-gapping operations are required. Combined with simple analog electronic circuitry, this provides a low-cost solution.