Meterbased

Meterbased is an adjective used to describe systems, processes, or analyses that rely primarily on data collected from metering devices. The term indicates that measurements supplied by meters—such as electricity, water, gas, or other utility meters, as well as industrial sensors—are the primary input for evaluation, decision making, or billing. Meterbased approaches contrast with estimation-based or model-based methods that depend on indirect measurements, proxies, or theoretical models rather than direct metered data.

In energy management and smart grids, meterbased data enable real-time or near-real-time monitoring of consumption, dynamic pricing, demand response, and outage detection. In buildings, meterbased monitoring can track submetered zones to optimize HVAC and lighting. In manufacturing, meterbased quality control uses sensor readings and meters to verify process parameters and product conformity.

Advantages of meterbased systems include accuracy, transparency, and accountability due to direct measurement; potential for timely decision making; and better alignment of pricing and usage. Limitations include reliance on meter accuracy, data privacy concerns, data latency and gaps due to communication failures, and the costs of installing and maintaining meters and data infrastructure.

The term is used across domains with varying conventions and is often hyphenated meter-based. Related concepts include metering, telemetry, data-driven decision making, and measurement-based approaches.