1 MPLAB® Harmony Smart Energy Metrology

The Smart Energy Metrology solution provided in Harmony is oriented to dedicated devices (PIC32CXMTC and PIC32CXMTSH), which are Dual Core microcontrollers, with each Core dedicated to different tasks.

It is built up from 2 different pieces:
  • The Metrology Library. Which is provided as binary file. It runs in Core 1 (Coprocessor) and it is fully dedicated to interact with Metrology AFEs (internal AFE in PIC32CXMTSH or external AFEs in PIC32CXMTC), getting the raw data provided and performing all the required ADC and DSP operations to convert it to convenient measurements.
  • The Metrology Driver and Demo Meter Application. Which run in Core 0 (Main processor). Metrology Driver is in charge of handling Core 1 events and further calculations to provided data to present the measurements in real-world format (Amperes, Volts, Watts, and so on). Demo Meter Application is not only a regular example provided, but it is an implementation of many parts that are common to Electricity Meters, so the potential users are familiar with those parts and they learn how to implement them using the Microchip Metrology solution. It is a powerful tool for validation of the Metrology capabilities underneath, so the user can verify that the needed requirements are fulfilled.

The following figure depicts the above explained 2 part solution:

Figure 1-1. Dual Core Architecture

This documentation covers the parts running in the Main Processor, this is, the Metrology Driver and the Demo Meter Application.