A TCP-based IEC 62056-21 compliant electricity meter simulator for developers, test engineers, and embedded system designers. Test your integrations without the need for real hardware.
It simulates an electricity meter in a fully software-based manner, using a message flow similar to the IEC 62056-21 protocol. It does not perform real measurements; instead, it generates a positive, consistent energy consumption profile that increases over time.
Just like typical meters, after the /?! handshake and
ACK050, it produces a short readout containing the serial number,
total consumption, instant power, voltage, and date/time information.
It records consumption values at 15-minute intervals (or accelerated periods for
testing). These values are both written to a file
(P.01(YYMMDDhhmm)(vvvv.vv)) and queryable over the protocol.
The TCP server, protocol layer, and meter core are decoupled from each other. This makes it easy to add a UI, integrate real hardware, or implement additional OBIS commands.
The project simulates a real meter's behavior by breaking it down into modular layers. The visual below provides a high-level summary of the data flow from the TCP client, through the meter core, to the load profile file.
The simulator uses TCP instead of a serial port; however, the message flow is the same as a classic IEC 62056-21 meter.
Client → Meter : /?!<CR><LF>
Meter → Client : /ISK5ME382-1003<CR><LF>Client → Meter : ACK050<CR><LF>
Meter → Client :
0.0.0(12345678)
1.8.0(0012345.67*kWh)
2.8.0(0000123.45*kWh)
1.7.0(0001.42*kW)
32.7.0(230.4*V)
0.9.1(14:22:31)
0.9.2(24-01-01)
!Client → Meter:
P.01(YYMMDDhhmm)(YYMMDDhhmm)
e.g.: P.01(2401010000)(2401020000)
Meter → Client :
P.01(2401010000)(0000.42)
P.01(2401010015)(0000.38)
...
!python run_simulator.py --host 127.0.0.1 --port 5000 \
--interval-seconds 10
The example above reduces the 15-minute interval to 10 seconds
for testing. To use the actual 15-minute interval, you can pass the
--interval-seconds 900 parameter.
python run_simulator.py --host 127.0.0.1 --port 5000 --meter-id ZD5ME666-667Example with a custom port and meter ID.
telnet 127.0.0.1 5000
/?!<Enter>
ACK050<Enter>
P.01(2401010000)(2401012359)<Enter>If you wish, you can also send the same messages from your own STM32 / UART bridge to run integration tests.
Meter_Client_Test.py is a simple test client that connects to the
simulator at given intervals and queries both the identification/short readout and
the load profile (P.01) for a date range you choose.
This script imitates the calls a real application or embedded device would make:
/?! and reads the meter ID.ACK050 and receives the short/full OBIS readout response.P.01(start)(end) command.python Meter_Client_Test.py --host 127.0.0.1 --port 5000 \
--interval 10 --start 2603171000 --end 2603171050Arguments:
--host: IP address of the meter simulator (default 127.0.0.1).--port: TCP port (default 5000).--interval: Wait time between queries in seconds (default 10).--start: Load profile start time in
YYMMDDhhmm format (default 2603171000).
--end: End time (YYMMDDhhmm). If left empty, the script
uses the current time at runtime.
Starting TCP client...
Target: 127.0.0.1:5000
Interval: 10 sec
Load profile range: 2603171000 - 2603171050
--- New Query ---
ID Response:
/ISK5ME382-1003
ACK Response:
0.0.0(12345678)
1.8.0(0000025.73*kWh)
1.7.0(0001.42*kW)
32.7.0(230.4*V)
0.9.1(10:50:00)
0.9.2(26-03-17)
!
Load Profile Response:
P.01(2603171048)(0000.51)
P.01(2603171049)(0000.45)
P.01(2603171050)(0000.54)
!...The simulator stores the load profile it produces and the total index on disk in two files. These files act as the meter's memory and ensure that the consumption total is preserved even if the application restarts.
meter_data.txt (Load Profile Records)Each line represents the consumption for one interval:
P.01(2603171048)(0000.51)
P.01(2603171049)(0000.45)
P.01(2603171050)(0000.54)
...
Format: P.01(YYMMDDhhmm)(vvvv.vv) → the energy consumed
(kWh) during the given time slice.
meter_data_total_endex.txt (Total Index)Contains the last timestamp and total consumption information:
last_timestamp(2603171050)
total_import(25.73)
When the application starts, this file is read and the 1.8.0 OBIS
value (total energy) is set according to this index. This way the meter resumes
from where it left off, just like a real device.
You can review the project directly on GitHub or download the packaged version of the Python application to try it out quickly.
Using the load profile generated by the simulator, you can visualize daily consumption as a simple yet elegant bar chart.