Renewable Energy Revitalizes the Ammeter Shunt Resistor (.PDF Download)

The world has turned to renewable energy in an attempt to wean itself from depleting carbon-based sources. The increase in the number of solar, wind, wave, and tidal power sources has pushed the need for a highly accurate method of measuring current. The solution is required for several reasons: to ensure accurate billing, have a more granular level of control, and, perhaps most importantly, to ensure the efficiency of the distributed power system.

There are a few ways to measure current. However, the one most suited for renewable applications looks to be conventional ammeters, using shunt resistors to handle the high currents.  

The Needs of Renewable Power

Renewable power is not a recent phenomenon. Hydroelectric plants have been popular in some areas for many decades. But for countries trying to switch away from a carbon-based economy, large-scale use of solar and wind power has been the main focus of the new generation of renewable power sources.

Power from these renewable sources differs from conventional sources, such as coal, gas, and nuclear plants. This is because renewables either generate dc power directly, or the power they generate requires some conversion between ac and dc and back. Carbon-based generation inherently produces ac power, which can easily be fed into the grid using substation transformers.