A CT meter, short for current transformer meter, clips around a site's incoming power cable and measures how much current is flowing through it in real time. It's the sensor that gives a dynamic load balancing system the data it needs to work.
How It Measures Load
A current transformer induces a small, proportional current from the magnetic field around the main cable, without needing to be wired directly into the circuit. That reading is converted into a live measurement of the site's total electrical demand, updated continuously rather than as a periodic snapshot.
Its Role in Load Balancing
A load balancing system needs to know two things constantly: how much power the site is allowed to draw, and how much it's actually using right now. The CT meter answers the second question. Everything else, lighting, HVAC, workshop equipment, and EV chargers, shows up in that one reading, which is what lets the system calculate real headroom for charging rather than working from a fixed assumption.
Installation Basics
A CT meter is a relatively simple, non-invasive addition for a qualified electrician to fit, typically alongside the main distribution board. It doesn't require rewiring the site, only access to the incoming supply cable it needs to read.
Neutron's Systems
Our Master Units and group charging systems use CT metering as standard to drive dynamic load balancing across every connected bay.
Where does a CT meter get installed?
On the site's incoming supply, usually at or near the main distribution board, so it measures the total load for the whole site, chargers and everything else, rather than just the charging circuit.
Can dynamic load balancing work without a CT meter?
Not effectively. Without a CT meter reading real site-wide demand, a load balancing system has to guess at how much headroom is available, which either wastes capacity or risks exceeding the site's actual supply limit.
Sizing a load-balanced charging system?
CT metering is built into our Master Units as standard.
Explore Master Units