What is MID certification?

What is MID Certification?

It is an instrument measuring directive for gas and energy meters that has been implemented to a regulatory standard that is regulated across Europe. 

What does it mean?

It means that the product meets stringent conformity and is approved for primary (supplier to consumer) or secondary (landlord-tenant) billing applications. 

The history behind how we got to MID certification 

The story began with the requirements of the Gas Act 1986 and the Electricity Act 1989,  but in October 2006, the European Measuring Instruments Directive (MID) 2004/22/EC was implemented, designed to harmonise the requirements of 10 different measuring instrument types, to include gas and active electrical energy meters. In April 2016, the original MID was then replaced by the updated MID (2014/32/EU), implemented by The Measuring Instruments Regulations SI 2016/1153.

MID approved instruments have passed specific conformity assessment procedures and have clear MID markings which allow the instruments to be used in any EU member state. The aim of the directive is to create a single market in accurate measuring instruments for the benefit of manufacturers and, ultimately, consumers across Europe.

The MID approval process

Under the MID, gas and electricity meters are approved by notified bodies, designated by member states. Manufacturers can obtain approvals from any notified body in any EU member state.

A list of these bodies, matched with the instruments they have been designated to approve, is available on-line.

There are a number of different conformity assessment options available for MID approval and manufacturers are free to choose between these. For gas and electricity meters the options are:

• B+D (i.e. type examination and quality assurance of the production process)
• B+F (i.e. type examination and product verification)
• H1 (i.e. full quality assurance plus design examination)

Further information can be found on the European Commission website.

MID electricity meter certification

Unlike meters approved under GB national legislation, certification is not recognised as a separate process under the MID. MID electricity meters are either approved and certified (Annex B+D, Annex B+F or Annex H1) or they are not. Any MID electricity meters with only Annex B (i.e. type approval) are not approved for either primary (i.e. supplier-consumer) or secondary (i.e. landlord-tenant) billing applications.

MID markings

There is no statutory list of MID approved gas meters or electricity meters, although the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) publishes approval certificates issued by notified bodies designated in the UK.

MID approved gas and electricity meters can be identified by their specific markings, as required under the directive. These consist of the CE marking, the MID marking which is made up of the letter ‘M’ and then the year of manufacture (for example a meter manufactured in 2011 would have M11), and a four-digit code identifying the notified body that approved and verified the meter. If your meter does not display these markings, it is not MID approved.

What else should I know about MID certified products?

Our solutions allow energy monitoring (in-use and reported) of anything and everything from an estate right down to a single device, with all parts in-between. This is important for different reasons to different stakeholders but a few examples are

• Universities - The wasted energy within halls of residence can be huge in cost and are also unsustainable. Tracking energy and educating users can be a valuable tool for planet and finances. 
• Manufacturing - Aviation is an industry where embodied carbon calculations are key in the manufacture of parts so accurate energy understanding is a big part within this. 
• Transport Hubs - With often large, complex and energy hungry environments it is important and valuable to drive down waste, optimise equipment and power use and report accurately. 

Watch our webinar about Energy Monitoring

There are many other reasons to track and understand energy use and the solutions we have can be easily deployed using wired or wireless methods and sometimes the existing equipment within your estate today could (with our help) provide energy information without any further devices or infrastructure.