3. Introduction to counting sets

As we've seen from some of our electronic meter designs, some models - even those designed for residential customers - have become much more than just electricity meters. In fact, the rapid development over the last few decades of electronic techniques, through integrated circuits, and above all computer techniques, through on-board software, has made it possible to introduce functions into meters at a lower cost than would have been virtually impossible without developing specific devices separate from the meter. So, until the late 1980s, mass metering could not be complicated, and high-end metering for large consumers or high-voltage substations required a large number of discrete devices, which was quite expensive. From the early 1990s onwards, complete electronic metering systems began to be developed, consigning the older generation to the scrap heap, with some electromechanical parts...