M2M - Smart Grid
Results from a year-long study on high-tech electricity meters found smart grid technology performed as intended, saving consumers about 10 percent on their bills while easing strain on the power grid.
The Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest Laboratory on Wednesday released the findings from its GridWise project, which tested the use of Internet-connected thermostats and other controls in 112 homes in the Seattle area.
Consumers also tried out appliances, like water heaters and dryers, that were able to automatically change their settings according to signals sent by the utility over the power grid.
The trial showed that consumers are willing to have utilities remotely dial down the appliances to lessen the load on the power grid and reduce their consumption, said Rob Pratt, program manager at Pacific Northwest National Lab.
These changes could be as small as turning off the heat on the dryer while it continues to tumble for a few minutes. But those minute-to-minute adjustments, driven by the fluctuating demand on the power grid, can have significant benefits to utilities.
“We could save $70 billion in investments in the next 20 years by offsetting construction of new infrastructure that would otherwise be needed to meet load growth,” Pratt said during a teleconference with the media.
Smart grid technology would also provide more reliability to the power grid, allowing utilities to isolate problems more easily. Clean power sources such as wind and solar, which pose technical challenges because they don’t supply a steady stream of electricity, can be better incorporated with upgraded equipment, the study found.
The electricity infrastructure in the United States needs significant investment to be modernized, according to industry analysts. But utilities tend to be very conservative and unwilling to make large capital expenditures on new equipment.
M2M and Smart Grids
This has all the makings of the largest M2M network ever undertaken. Using RFID as the edge component coupled with a multi purposes platform make this one a real possebility.
From Smart meeters article
For over a hundred years power providers have essentially relied on their customers to notify them of power outages. Without any automated-detection system in place, power companies don’t know the power is out until a customer notifies them. This will change with the deployment new wireless sensors from a company based in Australia.
Telepathx Ltd, a wireless sensor developer based in Victoria, Australia, recently announced that the release of their new product will make this inherent dependency on energy customers a notion of the past. Telepathx Ltd is among the leading industry developers of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) in Australia.
The long-awaited release of Telepathx’ Pinpoint intelligent cutout sensor uses the company’s enhancements to radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to provide utility companies with the instant communications they need to pinpoint electrical outages. With Pinpoint sensors in place on a smart power grid, should a failure occur the power utility is notified within seconds of the precise location of the power failure including the specific device and cabling that have failed.
Power failure reporting at this level of precision has never before been attainable, but now with AMI technology taking shape throughout Australia, these sensors can be used that will minimize power outages to an absolute minimum.
According to April Sommers, an energy analyst, “Statistically 84% of all power outages or blackouts in urban and outer urban settings are caused by falling tree limbs or animals that come in contact with the overhead power lines, this intelligent cutout fuse technology can’t stop that from happening, but what it will do is provide an instantaneous notification to energy providers reducing the report and response times of faults from hours to mere seconds, something entire communities will benefit from.”
Previously, a power company could remain unaware of a power outage for minutes or even ours until telephoned customer complaints give a general idea where the issue is happening. Pinpoint sensors will greatly enhance a utility’s ability to respond to problems and enhance their ability to efficiently dispatch work crews to fix the problem.
Smart power grids will effectively manage themselves and notify the proper authorities when necessary. Sommers adds, “reducing customer minutes off supply or CMOS is what these guys [Pinpoint sensors] do best, forget about managing apparatus with streams of data or waiting for calls to come in; this reactive technology teaches the network to manage itself and alert authorities when something’s amiss.”
Telepathx general manager Mike Walsh confirms that “In addition to bringing intelligence to energy networks the multi purpose machine to machine (M2M) wireless sensor networks being developed by the company would for starters monitor fire ignitions, auto collisions, floods, mudslides, asset tracking and consumer/industrial alarm systems, reading water, gas and electric meters or AMR/AMI services would follow.”
It’s very clear that the ongoing effort to develop smart meter technology has very far reaching effects in efficiency, monetary savings, and enhanced public safety. Smart meters will reduce carbon emissions to the atmosphere, but will have many other consequential benefits once the items become commonplace.
James Eades, CEO of Telepathx, adds, “This communications aggregation platform was designed and developed to consolidate the fragmented communications services that exist in our urban areas, and will benefit entire communities not just the energy sector; essential service providers such as police, emergency services, transportation networks operators, utilities even sewerage plants and M2M operators would benefit from leveraging services off the platform.”
Commenting on the Pinpoint sensors, Eades said “We have developed what many are calling the optimal model for building out the intelligent distribution grid; for the simple reason that our platform goes well beyond managing energy assets to generate revenues the day it’s installed not decades. Currently we are also exploring opportunities with several smart meter manufacturers on the issue of converging and leveraging of each others platform, a move that will make meters more intelligent than ever imagined.”
Pinpoint sensors integrated into smart meters and home appliances have the potential to create home area networks (HANs) capable of remote control of appliances in the home by either the individual consumer or the power company. RFID technology operates over radio frequencies, eliminating the need to install computer equipment that other wireless technologies require.
February 10th, 2008 at 12:01 am
The reality is that our power grid is an antique that we are demanding more and more from it each day. Appliances, equipment and electronics that consume the electricity must be able to communicate and ultimately support the optimal operation of the power grid.
Consumer’s can really benefit from a Smart Grid also and need to ability to manage the energy consumption of their homes and businesses in accordance with their values, lifestyle choices and pocket books.
April 22nd, 2008 at 3:07 pm