OWON Technology (part of LILLIPUT Group) is a globalized ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) service provider specialized in research and application of electronic and computer-related technologies. It is an ISO 9001:2008 certified research institute and manufacturer involved in design, manufacturing, marketing and delivery of electronic products across the world since... more
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.
To achieve the vision of the modern grid, a wide range of technologies must be developed and implemented.
As part of the U.S. National Energy Technology Laboratory’s Smart Grid Implementation Strategy initiative, a compendium of technologies has been prepared, categorized into five Key Technology Areas (KTAs), as follows:
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.
This system level application note describes some design considerations and a proposed solution to design challenges found in many PLC applications. The document provides a review of CENELEC transmission and disturbance requirements for PLC and describes a solution to interface into the electrical mains to ensure proper data transmission.
Smart meters are considered to be the backbone of Smart Grid deployment — the first move into two-way communication between power providers and their customers. Smart meters provide better real-time information to utilities about the quality of power supply and the customer demand for electricity and gas at any given moment.
Based on actual deployments of smart meters globally, those benefits translate into more reliable service, streamlined billing, and reduced power loss. For consumers, use of smart meters makes understanding their consumption information easier, can help them better manage their costs, and removes the inconveniences associated with switching suppliers. More importantly, smart meters promote energy conservation.
The NCP1294 is a flexible solution used in Module Level Power Management (MLPM) solutions. This application note describes its use as a solar array controller with functionality for managing maximum peak power tracking (MPPT) and battery charging. It covers in detail the NCP1294’s principle of operation, how it works as a switching controller, and associated circuits for lead acid battery charging with MPPT. The application note includes a comprehensive design example and test data.
In today’s fast moving technology environment, for M2M applications such as automatic meter management (AMM) product offerings combining cellular and short range communications provides the best of both technologies to offer multiple benefits, including low power consumption, reduced product costs, reduced installation and maintenance costs, and reduced operational costs.
As green energy management becomes a global imperative, the idea of implementing intelligent systems and wireless technology to more efficiently use energy and other natural resources has become a pervasive reality. It began with a relatively simple idea. If you add embedded intelligence and a communications link to a traditional metering device, you have the ability to remotely access the data that the smart meter has collected. However, through this seemingly simple enhancement of a communications link, a network was born, and with it came an explosion of applications and innovations transforming the way energy is measured, priced and consumed.
Brussels, Belgium --- (METERING.COM) --- April 4, 2011 - Customers and their main contact point, the energy retailers, have a unique opportunity, technologically as well as economically, to advance the efficient development of the smart grid throughout Europe’s competitive energy markets and major changes in this emerging energy landscape, with new technologies already available or soon expected on the market, will open up new possibilities within the retailer-consumer relationship.
By Morgan Bazilian, Special Advisor to the Director-General of UNIDOIn 2009, an estimated 585 million people had no access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. Unlike many other regions of the world, under current assumptions, that figure is expected to rise significantly by 2030 to about 652 million – an unsustainable and unacceptable situation. While national governments and regional organizations have identified the urgent need for accelerated electrification rates, responding to this need will require innovative and effective energy policies. The way future power systems are planned, designed, constructed, financed and operated will have a significant impact on how effectively these aspirations are delivered.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) allocated $6 billion for clean water and drinking water infrastructure. Of this, 20% ($1.2 billion) was reserved for programs for green infrastructure, water and energy efficiency and environmental innovation – which included metering and leak detection/control – collectively named the “Green Project Reserve,” with an additional $700 million being added to extend the Reserve in the current financial year.
A (partial) list of the water metering projects that have been funded from this Green Project Reserve has been compiled by the organization American Rivers, detailing projects in California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Tennessee. The list also includes projects in these states that were not awarded funding (funding status = 0).
For a discussion on this funding, see “The economic stimulus package and its impact on water metering and water in the US” by Jonathan Spencer Jones in Metering International Issue 1 2011 page 92.
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