Energy meters integration
Any meter in the EMS, through your PLC
On many industrial sites the energy meter is not on the network directly but is read by a PLC. Instead of supporting one more brand, Voltmasters EMS reads a fixed block of Modbus registers that the PLC fills in. That gives any meter a place in the EMS.
Generic PLC
Supported devices
- PLC-registerblok
Not a brand but a protocol: any meter your PLC publishes in the register block. Values are integers, with fixed scale factors and big-endian 32-bit numbers. Every device gets its own base register, so several meters can share one slave ID.
What the EMS gets out of your Generic PLC installation
- Real-time measurement on the grid connection as the basis for every control action
- Submetering per installation section or consumer
- Accurate data for peak shaving and injection limiting
- Reporting and cost analysis in the platform
- Mix all brands in a single metering setup
Why installers use the PLC integration
An existing PLC installation does not have to be torn open to do energy management. The PLC talks to the meter in its own protocol and publishes the measurement in a standardised register block; the EMS reads that block and uses it as a grid meter or a submeter, like any other meter. That makes an exotic or older meter usable for peak shaving, injection limiting and reporting.
The technical bit, in short
- Modbus TCP to the PLC, holding registers
- Set a base register per meter; all offsets are relative to it
- Optionally a heartbeat register, so a frozen PLC application stands out
- Requires EMS controller version 0.0.320 or higher
How it works
How your Generic PLC connects to the EMS
Voltmaster Controller in the cabinet
The industrial DIN-rail controller sits next to the installation and runs the optimisation locally, even without internet.
Connect over the local network
You connect the device following the step-by-step guide in our documentation. We assist with commissioning on your first project.
Configure and go live
The installation appears in the platform: dashboards, control and monitoring are active right away.
Other energy meters we control
All integrations →FAQ
Questions about the Generic PLC integration
Which meters can I read this way?
In principle any meter, because the EMS does not talk to the meter but to your PLC. As long as the PLC publishes the measurement in the expected register block, the brand of the meter does not matter.
Can the EMS also control things through the PLC?
No. This is a monitoring integration: the EMS reads the measurement and controls nothing through the PLC. Control happens on the battery, the inverters and the chargers themselves.
What if the PLC application freezes?
A frozen PLC keeps returning the last values it wrote, so the meter looks healthy while the data goes stale. That is why you can configure a heartbeat register: if that counter stops changing for more than 30 seconds, the EMS reports that the PLC application is no longer running.
Does this work together with hardware from another brand?
Yes, the EMS is brand-independent. A battery, PV inverter, EV chargers and meters from different manufacturers are controlled together as one optimised system.
How do I connect a meter through a PLC to the EMS?
The Voltmaster Controller connects to the device over the local network. The step-by-step instructions are in our documentation, and as a certified partner we guide your first commissioning from start to finish.
Ready to make your first project pay off?
Tell us about your next installation. We will show you the platform, help you build the business case and guide you from first quote to certification.