ABB: Energy metering and distribution-board monitoring

ABB supplies DIN-rail energy meters, branch-circuit monitoring and InSite systems for electrical distribution in buildings and industry.

Best for: Distribution boards combining energy meters, multiple branch measurements and local monitoring.
Less suited to: Battery-only wireless retrofit measurements: the cited DIN-rail meters and InSite system use wired electrical and collection paths.
Deployment: DIN-rail meters and branch sensors, with optional InSite control units and multi-site software.
Data in: Variant-specific Modbus RTU or M-Bus meters; InSite also collects its own sensor bus and supported digital I/O.
Pricing: Hardware and software depend on the chosen meter, interface and system configuration.

Overview

ABB's energy-monitoring products cover more than one layer of an electrical installation. The energy-meter range includes direct-connected and transformer-connected instruments, while InSite brings measurements together at distribution-board level. That distinction is useful when comparing an individual submeter with a wider branch-monitoring system.

A retrofit may need a few accurately measured feeder totals, many smaller branch measurements, or both. Selecting a communications protocol does not settle that physical measurement choice. The relevant questions are where current is measured, how voltage is referenced, what the instrument reports and how those readings reach the monitoring application. An ABB product name alone does not answer all four.

Offering

Within the B-series energy meters, B23 and B24 serve different electrical connection arrangements. B23 is the direct-connected three-phase option; B24 uses current transformers. ABB distinguishes B24's CT-only arrangement from A42 and A44 models that can also work with voltage transformers. Those differences matter before choosing a register map or software driver.

For multiple branches, the InSite system uses control units and current sensors rather than simply repeating a complete display meter at every circuit. Its catalogue includes SCU100 and SCU200 variants. A meter for a feeder total and a branch sensor can both be useful in the same installation, but they represent different measurement and installation choices.

Technology

ABB's SCU100 description explains the relationship between the control unit, its InSite bus, digital I/O modules and Modbus RTU meters. The published integration includes ABB energy-meter series A, B and C and named power-meter families. This is a concrete collection path, not evidence that every ABB device uses an identical interface.

Meter communications still depend on the ordering variant. The energy-meter documentation distinguishes available interfaces and electrical connection arrangements. An integration should retain the exact model and interface identity alongside each measurement. InSite's sensor bus, a serial Modbus meter and an M-Bus meter are different paths, even where the resulting values all describe energy use.

Markets

ABB positions InSite around energy and load management, with local measurement feeding wider analysis. Its InSite Energy Pro offering adds a multi-site view for comparing performance across locations. That is a different project scope from reading one meter into an existing building-management system.

The US InSite description covers AC and DC branch monitoring, giving it a role where the operator needs to see how loads are distributed across circuits. A project's reporting or control requirements should follow those individual measurement capabilities. Multi-channel visibility can help identify where consumption occurs, while any need for billing approval or detailed power-quality analysis remains an instrument-specific requirement.

Company

ABB was formed in 1988 by the merger of Sweden's ASEA and Switzerland's BBC, as recorded in its company history. The predecessor businesses have longer histories; 1988 here identifies ABB's formation rather than the beginning of all of its underlying technologies.

The company confirmed Zurich as its global headquarters in a 2026 headquarters announcement. For energy-system selection, the relevant part of that broad group is the electrical measurement and monitoring portfolio. This profile therefore focuses on identifiable meters, branch sensors and collection systems, rather than extending a general corporate claim into an unsupported statement about a particular device's communications or accuracy.