Type of household energy meter: Identify whether a domestic electricity (kWh) meter is indicating, recording, or integrating in nature.

Introduction / Context:Domestic energy meters installed by utilities display cumulative electrical energy consumption, typically in kilowatt-hours (kWh). Distinguishing among indicating, recording, and integrating instruments is part of basic measurement science and is often featured in introductory electrical engineering curricula.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Household meter accumulates energy use over time.
• Display may be electromechanical dials or electronic LCDs, but the functional principle is the same.
• Energy is the time integral of instantaneous power.

Concept / Approach:

An indicating instrument shows instantaneous value (e.g., voltmeter, ammeter). A recording instrument logs a time history (chart recorders). An integrating instrument accumulates a quantity over time; a kWh meter integrates power (kW) with respect to time to yield energy (kWh). Therefore, a household energy meter is an integrating instrument.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:

Modern smart meters still report totalized kWh between billing cycles; instantaneous power is optional telemetry but the billing core remains integrated energy, confirming the classification.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Indicating: would show instantaneous power only.
• Recording: implies a continuous time record; traditional meters do not plot a chart of P(t).
• None/null-type: not applicable to kWh metering function.

Common Pitfalls:

• Confusing real-time demand (kW) displays in smart meters with the legal billing quantity (kWh).

Final Answer:

integrating instrument