The tenant electricity sub-meter market is the fastest-growing sector in power metering, according to the latest data from IMS Research. Market expansion into regions outside of Europe, which currently possess little tenant sub-metering, is forecast to drive global double-digit unit growth for the next several years.

The total market for power meters, used internally for cost allocation or own power quality monitoring, has traditionally grown 3% to 5% annually. Against this context, tenant sub-meters, devices used by building owners to bill renters for their individual power usage, have seen tremendous market growth in the last few years. Market analyst Donald Henschel commented, “A strong market for tenant sub-meters has emerged in Europe within the past few years, driven by energy efficiency concerns, consumer demand and government regulation. Although the tenant sub-metering market in North America and Asia is much smaller than that in Europe, these regions have begun adoption of sub-metering and the market outlook is quite strong in the long-term. While these devices are less expensive than more complex power quality meters, sub-meters are going to make up more and more of the annual revenue stream for power meter suppliers in the coming years.”

Even in the midst of the current depressed global economy the tenant sub-meter market is experiencing growth of over 10% annually in unit terms, and at the close of 2009 the market was estimated to be approaching over 250k unit shipments. Once the global economy recovers the long term promise of the sub-metering market will be realized with more regulation and new commercial construction expected. “IMS Research is confident that this application of metering technology will expand further in the next three years, particularly in China and North America. The key market drivers of energy efficiency awareness and government regulation will further accelerate market development and sustain double-digit growth for the foreseeable future.”