The First Electric Meter: 1872 Edition from Samuel Gardiner

Samuel Gardiner was the guy who created the first electric meter back in 1872. It's now preserved at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History—check it out next time you're in DC 🏛️.

Before there were smart meters—or even regular electric meters—there was just light. And no easy way to track how much you used. Gardiner saw the problem coming. As more cities started using arc lamps to light the streets 🌆, someone had to figure out how to measure that power ⚡.

So in 1872, Gardiner invented the first electric meter. It didn’t track kilowatt-hours like today’s meters. Instead, it was a clock—literally 🕰️. When electric current flowed, an electromagnet kicked in and started the clock. When the current stopped, the clock stopped too. The result? You knew how long the electricity was running, even if you didn’t know exactly how much was used ⏳.

Gardiner called it a “lamp-hour” meter. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked—and it set the stage for better meters down the line 🚀.

At Fieldman, we celebrate public works heroes—past and present 🛠️👏. It takes courage to make changes, try something new, and push for better 💪. Samuel Gardiner did just that. And thanks to innovators like him, the rest of us get to keep building the future 🏗️⚙️.
That’s how electric metering got its start.

To learn the best way to install electric meters, check out our guide to successful AMI deployment—or explore the work order management software we built for utilities and vendors installing smart meters.