This paper evaluate ways how machine to machine communications lower operational and maintenance costs while improving response times and deliver more rigorous service-level agreements. It also explores how energy companies are beginning to benefit from connected equipment and assets, and the key requirements and best practices to consider when implementing M2M applications.

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In reducing its carbon footprint, American Water has introduced innovations that it hopes will set the stage for more environmentally friendly practices throughout the water industry. While solving the climate change challenge will ultimately require a unified and sustained effort between government, business and consumers, the industry should, and must, take a leadership role.

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This briefing note by Engage Consulting summarises the content of Britain’s Water White Paper "Water for Life" published on 8th December 2011 by Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; the Government department with overall responsibility for water policy and legislation). The Water White Paper represents the British Government's response to three major reviews of the water sector:

As demands to improve smart grid performance put the traditional PLC (Power Line Communication) modulation techniques used for automatic meter reading (AMR) under pressure, utilities are seeking ways to achieve higher data rates and more robust communications that meet future requirements while maintaining compatibility with existing installations.

This design note describes a low power, off-line, extended universal AC input buck power supply intended for powering utility electric meters and other applications in which isolation from the AC mains is not required and low cost and simplicity are essential.

Energy suppliers rely on Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems to enable remote telemetry functions in the power grid. Historically, SCADA systems have employed wireline networks to link remote power grid elements with a central operations center. Today, more and more utilities are turning to public cellular networks to provide these vital communications functions. Modern cellular networks are just as secure and reliable as wireline infrastructure, and can be faster, easier, and less expensive to deploy and operate.

By Andrew Deeming – Chief Technical Officer (Homes) Secure Meters Group

The deployment of Home Networks generates new Service Opportunities and possibilities for Customer Engagement.   In the area of Heating Control for example, the ability to assist a vulnerable customer with the programming of their heating system remotely or save them money by fitting energy efficient controls incorporating the latest algorithms could be beneficial.  If these customers require more assistance in the future, then a few additional products would enable further services to be deployed.  The key to delivering these benefits is a partnership between equipment and service providers, using interoperable products and systems.  The systems should be capable of being enhanced incrementally making full use of the system components deployed at an earlier stage, wherever possible.

AP Systems is a leading supplier of M2M solutions, with a strong focus on Energy management systems. It operates with a working team of more than 130 employees across five offices in Italy and two international branches. AP Systems is organised into three technical divisions, each built on a specific specialisation: PAL providing IT systems for the public sector; MIT which develops M2M systems for the remote management of pipeline meters; and Security, tasked with delivering video surveillance systems and other security solutions.

 

Transforming today’s electric grid into a smart grid is a monumental undertaking that faces significant challenges in a number of areas. However, the smart grid transition should not be carried out as a series of independent and isolated events. If it is, the smart grid may still be achieved ultimately – but not without large numbers of stops and starts, significant amounts of rework, unfavorable pushback from stakeholders, unnecessary costs, and unexpected delays.

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This paper focuses on Smart Metering as one of the cornerstones of the Smart Grid vision. It explores the drivers and benefits of Smart Metering in an intelligent energy grid and examines the role that cellular technology is playing in these projects. The paper also discusses the critical success factors for Smart Metering communications infrastructures and best practices when designing wireless Smart Metering solutions.

Prepayment for electricity and gas is becoming smarter with more system capability and greater flexibility for consumers. This article discusses the benefits for both energy supplier and consumer including its potential for making a contribution to overall reduction in energy consumption. It describes findings arising from the implementation of a Smart Prepayment System in New Delhi, India, and then looks forward to Smart Prepayment in the Great Britain Smart Meter Programme.

The evolution of the smart grid is not only changing the way we receive and use electricity, but is also transforming the way we think of cyber-security. With the transformation of traditional energy distribution networks into intelligent platforms, power companies are able to save energy, shift peak load, reduce costs and increase reliability. With this evolution come significant challenges in ensuring that the smart grid is both secure and reliable.

Although smart meters are more sophisticated than electromechanical power meters, a primary concern in smart meter design is the integrity of measurement data, which can directly impact a utility provider’s billing revenue.

• With the worldwide build-out of the smart grid, meters are increasingly installed in an electromagnetically noisy locations.
• Certain isolation techniques are potentially susceptible to exploitation. For example, there have been cases of utility customers disabling power meters by attaching strong magnets or coils to the equipment which presents false measurement data to the controller.

Despite the popularity of optocouplers and transformers as isolation technologies, both of these solutions have tangible weaknesses that should be of concern for metering applications.

Find out how modern CMOS digital isolators provide accurate, uncorrupted power measurement data across an isolation barrier to address these concerns in smart meter applications.

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