Communication channels – source of smart system economic benefits
There are a few imperfections in contemporary smart systems currently being used in power engineering. The slowdown or halt in the installation of new smart systems (primarily smart electrometers) force us to ponder and analyse this situation.
Unfortunately, we can clearly see that the proclaimed words ‘standardisation’ and ‘interoperability’ were merely a way to get control over the biggest part of the market possible. These solutions are either overall proprietary, or based on surpassed data exchange protocols.
Moreover – this being the crucial part – these systems do not tackle the issues that burden today’s power engineering sector, namely the dynamic change of energy flow; penetration of electricity producers; and new appliances.
The Rise of Low-Energy Communication Channels
The rising interest in low-energy communication channels, such as SIGFOX, LoRa and others is a testament to the need for
- very effective management of the transferred data (binary state being the optimum) and
- reducing the frequency of that data transfer to an indispensable level and necessary size.
The impact of efficiency has got more positives – lower amounts of transferred data being one of them. The data is able to be coded in a simpler and, more importantly, faster way, improving the security of the channel between the electrometer and reading central. It is necessary to take these upcoming systems seriously in densely built-up urban areas. And the focus on the efficiency of data transfer is their enormous bonus.
The Continued Relevance of PLC Technology
Apart from that, it is vital to take into consideration that PLC technology – despite being considered obsolete – is the sole option able to attend to all the measured points in the power grid. Wherever wires are, so is the PLC signal.
It may however be necessary to implement specialised proprietary protocols instead of reportedly ‘interoperable’ standards. These protocols are ready to handle the transferred data effectively as they respect the features of PLC channels (higher level of interference, change of electrical impedance, change of topology and attenuation).
Optimising Data Transfer for a Smart Grid Future
If the requirement of reasonable frequency of transferred data is met and the channel is not overloaded with unnecessary tasks, an ideal situation arises (as indicated in the heading of this article).
An electrometer is present in every household and very often other multiutility channels (water, gas etc.) are already occupied by low-energy radio transmitters using the Wireless M-Bus protocol. If an electricity meter is equipped with communication support for receiving signals from these active wireless sensors, a synergic solution arises.
Conclusion: Regulatory Directives and the Future of Metering
European directive no. 2012/27/EU requires that a utility not enter a household for the purposes of reading electric and gas meters. Directive no. 2015/13/EU for water and division of heating expenses is already prepared and this directive again sets parameters around entering a household to read all the other mediums.
Even though these are political decisions, the necessity of continuously monitoring water offtake is vital. We are not far away from the time when exceeding the daily water offtake limit will be grounds for a fine.
Let us make the electrometer communication channel ready for other metering types as well and avoid useless and costly duplications.