High Power DC Kilowatt Hour Meter

A method of assembling a high voltage and high current direct current (DC) power meter, comprising:

• configuring a current step down circuit that includes a shunt element adaptable to couple in series with a load and configured to generate a first analog signal having a voltage representative of a current through the load;
• configuring a voltage step down circuit that includes a voltage divider adaptable to couple in parallel with the load and configured to generate a second analog signal having a voltage representative of a voltage across the load;
• coupling a first isolation amplifier circuit that includes a first optocoupler to the first analog signal to generate a first isolated analog signal having a voltage representative of the current through the load;
• coupling a second isolation amplifier circuit that includes a second optocoupler to the second analog signal to generate a second isolated analog signal having a voltage representative of the voltage through the load.

A method of calculating power consumed by a load, comprising:

• coupling at least a portion of a current step down circuit in series with a load;
• generating a first analog signal that is representative of a current through the load with the current step down circuit;
• coupling at least a portion of a voltage step down circuit in parallel with the load;
• generating a second analog signal that is representative of a voltage across the load with the voltage step down circuit;
• optoelectrically isolating the first analog signal to generate a first isolated analog signal;
• optoelectrically isolating the second analog signal to generate a second isolated analog signal;
• converting the first and second isolated analog signals into respective first and second digital signals;
• and
• calculating power consumed by the load based upon the first and second digital signals.