Apparatus and method for measuring electrical work

A device for measuring electrical work, the device comprising:

• at least one switchable output configured to connect the device to at least one electrical load;
• an Internet connection means configured to establish an Internet connection for the device;
• a clock configured to electronically determine a current time for the device;
• at least one electronic memory configured to store electronic data;
• a smartcard comprising an integrated microcontroller, the integrated microcontroller being configured to intelligently control the at least one electronic memory, the Internet connection means, the at least one switchable output, the clock, and the electronic data stored in the at least one electronic memory;
• a smartcard insertion means configured to have the smartcard be inserted therein;
• and
• at least one of a display, an optical alarm device, and an acoustic alarm device,
• wherein,
• the electronic data from the at least one electronic memory is transmittable via the Internet connection, and
• the device is used for a process for measuring electrical work of at least one electrical load, the process comprising:
• providing the device;
• connecting the device to a socket;
• connecting the at least one electrical load to the device via the at least one switchable output;
• connecting the device to the Internet via the Internet connection means;
• transmitting a current rate information from an electricity supplier to the device via the Internet connecting device;
• switching an electrical load on or off via the at least one switchable output;
• storing information comprising at least one of the current rate information, a time, a current consumption, and a switching operation in the at least one electronic memory;
• retrieving the information via the Internet connection or via the display;
• preparing a voucher by an electricity supplier using the information stored in the at least one electronic memory based on a power consumed by the device and a relevant rate;
• and either,
• preparing the voucher by the electricity supplier in a billing period for a user only if two devices with a same load profile were not connected during a same circuit time;
• or
• wherein, the device further comprises a control possibility configured to feed additional information to the device;
• and
• identifying a connected current via the control possibility so that an additional device connected downstream of the device cannot again connect to and/or again count an identified current.