M-Bus - polling and reading data
Latest version: 5.0.1 build 1126. November 28, 2025.
The M-Bus plugin provides reliable reading and logging of metering devices using the M-Bus protocol (Meter-Bus). It supports energy and utility meters for heat, water, gas, and electricity and returns full lists of available measurement points with units. The plugin supports primary and secondary addressing and can manage large networks with up to 250 devices on a single M-Bus line.
What this plugin does
The plugin issues configured requests to M-Bus devices, receives packets, validates checksums, and extracts values and timestamps. It handles both instant and archived data, supports batch polling of multiple devices, and can automatically discover devices by primary and secondary address. The plugin can also filter by storage and tariff identifiers and skip already processed or older archive values for efficiency.
Practical examples
Example 1: Read instant energy consumption from a single electricity meter at 2025-01-02 08:00:00. Configure a request with device address 12 and storage number 0. The plugin returns the current energy reading with unit kWh and the timestamp stored in DATE_TIME_STAMP.
Example 2: Poll archived hourly gas volumes from meters with primary addresses 5,6,7. Configure process tariffs empty (all tariffs) and process storage numbers 1,2 to retrieve hourly archive records. Use "Read new data only" to avoid duplicate archive processing.
Request configuration and options
You define one or more requests. Each request can have these key options: device address (primary or secondary), storage numbers, tariffs, and response timeout. Use comma-separated lists for multiple addresses, storage numbers, or tariffs. Set address 254 to query all devices and collect secondary addresses.
Integration examples with Advanced Serial Data Logger
Example integration - single meter polling:
Incoming (serial) from device:
[STX] 68 05 05 68 08 01 72 34 56 78 16
Parsed fields:
- Device address: 5 - Value: 123.45 kWh - Timestamp: 2025-01-02 08:00:00
Exported (to logger output):
Device=5;Point=Energy;Value=123.45;Unit=kWh;Timestamp=2025-01-02 08:00:00
Key features
- Primary and secondary address discovery, including masked secondary search.
- Requests queue with per-request settings for storage and tariff filtering.
- Support for instant and archived data with timestamps.
- Scheduled or periodical polling.
- Automatic checksum calculation and validation for packet integrity.
- Batch polling of multiple devices using an address list.
- Configurable response timeout and minimal inter-packet interval.
Summary
The M-Bus plugin is a robust, configurable module for reading instant and historical meter data from single devices or in large M-Bus networks. It supports flexible polling schemes, request queues, and data integrity checks.
How to enable this plugin
The figure below shows how to select the plugin on the "Modules" page.
Fig.1. Selecting the plugin.
How to configure the plugin
The figure below shows how to configure the plugin. Please, look at the documentation for the full description of all settings.
Fig.2. Configuring the plugin.
Read more about other plugins:
All plugins | MODBUS RTU, MODBUS TCP, MODBUS ASCII | M-Bus | Bacnet/IP | IEC 62056-21 | DLMS/COSEM | DL-T645-2007 | CJ/T 188-2004 | Kamstrup [KMP protocol]