BGE-TECH DRT428M2
The BGE-TECH DRT428M2 is a three-phase DIN-rail energy meter designed for sub-metering in commercial, industrial, and building-automation applications. Using Modbus RTU over RS485, this template reads per-phase voltage, current, active power, reactive power, apparent power, and power factor. It also collects bidirectional energy totals: forward and reverse active and reactive energy for each phase, plus four independent tariff registers (T1 to T4) for time-of-use analysis. Connecting the DRT428M2 to the ModbusCloud Gateway gives installers and facility managers continuous visibility into load balance, energy import and export, and tariff-period consumption without manual meter reads.
- Protocol
- Modbus RTU
- Connection
- RS485
- Registers
- 71, read only
- Brand
- BGE-TECH
- Last updated
Registers (71)
71 read, 0 write
| Name | Unit | Access | Address (Hidden until you enter your email) | Function (hidden) | Type (hidden) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| voltage_l1 | V | Read | |||
| voltage_l2 | V | Read | |||
| voltage_l3 | V | Read | |||
| frequency | Hz | Read | |||
| current_l1 | A | Read | |||
| current_l2 | A | Read | |||
| current_l3 | A | Read | |||
| active_power | W | Read | |||
| active_power_l1 | W | Read | |||
| active_power_l2 | W | Read | |||
| active_power_l3 | W | Read | |||
| reactive_power | var | Read | |||
| reactive_power_l1 | W | Read | |||
| reactive_power_l2 | W | Read | |||
| reactive_power_l3 | W | Read | |||
| total_apparent_power | W | Read | |||
| l1_apparent_power | W | Read | |||
| l2_apparent_power | W | Read | |||
| l3_apparent_power | W | Read | |||
| total_power_factor | Read | ||||
| l1_power_factor | Read | ||||
| l2_power_factor | Read | ||||
| l3_power_factor | Read | ||||
| total_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| l1_total_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| l2_total_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| l3_total_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| forward_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| l1_forward_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| l2_forward_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| l3_forward_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| reverse_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| l1_reverse_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| l2_reverse_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| l3_reverse_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| total_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| l1_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| l2_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| l3_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| forward_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| l1_forward_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| l2_forward_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| l3_forward_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| reverse_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| l1_reverse_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| l2_reverse_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| l3_reverse_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t1_total_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t1_forward_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t1_reverse_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t1_total_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t1_forward_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t1_reverse_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t2_total_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t2_forward_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t2_reverse_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t2_total_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t2_forward_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t2_reverse_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t3_total_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t3_forward_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t3_reverse_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t3_total_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t3_forward_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t3_reverse_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t4_total_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t4_forward_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t4_reverse_active_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t4_total_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t4_forward_reactive_energy | Wh | Read | |||
| t4_reverse_reactive_energy | Wh | Read |
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Use cases
- Monitor per-phase voltage and current on each L1, L2, L3 circuit to detect load imbalances before they cause equipment damage.
- Track forward and reverse active energy totals to verify net consumption and solar export figures against utility invoices.
- Compare T1 through T4 tariff-period counters to identify which time slots drive the highest energy costs.
- Alert on total power factor dropping below a threshold to spot reactive power issues in motor or HVAC loads.
- Report phase-level active power trends over time to support capacity-planning decisions for additional equipment.
Installation
Enable Modbus RTU on the DRT428M2 by pressing the front-panel button to access the communication settings menu, then set the baud rate (default 9600), parity (none), stop bits (1), and assign a unique slave address (1 to 247).
Wire the RS485 bus: connect the meter's A(+) and B(-) terminals to the corresponding A and B terminals on the ModbusCloud Gateway using a twisted-pair cable, daisy-chaining additional meters if required. Keep the total bus length within RS485 limits and fit a 120-ohm termination resistor at each end of the bus.
In the ModbusCloud portal, add the ModbusCloud Gateway to your site, then import the BGE-TECH DRT428M2 template with one click and set the Modbus unit ID to match the slave address configured on the meter.
Verify the connection by checking live readings for voltage_l1, active_power, and total_active_energy in the portal dashboard. Confirm the values match the rolling LCD display on the meter itself.
Things to watch for
All register values appear as zero or NaN. What is wrong?
The most common cause is a slave address mismatch. The DRT428M2 ships with a default address that may differ from what is set in the portal. Check the address configured on the meter via the front-panel menu and ensure it matches the unit ID assigned to the template in ModbusCloud. Also verify baud rate and parity match on both sides.
Energy counters keep showing the same value and never update.
The DRT428M2 energy registers (addresses 256 onward) are float32 values stored across two consecutive holding registers. If your gateway or polling tool is reading only one register word instead of two, the value will appear frozen or incorrect. Confirm the template is using float32 (two-register) reads with function code 3 and that no byte-swap override is active.
Reactive power and energy values seem incorrect or inverted.
The DRT428M2 tracks forward and reverse reactive energy separately. If the meter's wiring direction is reversed (supply entering from the bottom instead of the top), import and export will be swapped. Verify wiring polarity: supply must enter from the top terminals. Also confirm the total calculation mode is set correctly on the meter for your application (import-only, export-only, or import plus export).
The RS485 bus works with one meter but drops out when I add a second.
Each meter on the RS485 bus must have a unique slave address. Duplicate addresses cause bus collisions and intermittent timeouts for all devices. Also check that termination resistors are fitted only at the two physical ends of the bus, not at intermediate nodes. Reduce the polling rate if the bus cable is long or if more than four meters share the segment.
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