Showing papers on "Electricity meter published in 2013"

Smart Meters in Smart Grid: An Overview

Abstract: Smart meter is one of the most important devices used in the smart grid (SG). The smart meter is an advanced energy meter that obtains information from the end users' load devices and measures the energy consumption of the consumers and then provides added information to the utility company and/or system operator. Several sensors and control devices, supported by dedicated communication infrastructure, are utilized in a smart meter. This paper outlines some smart meter's aspects and functions of smart meter. In addition, it introduces two basic types of smart meter system's communication technologies: Radio Frequency (RF) and Power Line Carrier (PLC) and recent advances with regard to these two technologies. This paper also presents different policy and current status as well as future projects and objectives of SG development in several countries. Finally, the paper compares some main aspects about latest products of smart meter from different companies.

Smart Grid Data Integrity Attacks

Abstract: Real power injections at loads and generators, and real power flows on selected lines in a transmission network are monitored and transmitted over a SCADA network to the system operator. These are used in state estimation algorithms to make dispatch, re-balance and other energy management system [EMS] decisions. Coordinated cyber attacks on power meter readings can be designed to be undetectable by any bad data detection algorithm. These unobservable attacks present a serious threat to grid operations. Of particular interest are sparse attacks that involve the compromise of a modest number of meter readings. An efficient algorithm to find all unobservable attacks [under standard DC load flow approximations] involving the compromise of exactly two power injection meters and an arbitrary number of power meters on lines is presented. This requires O(n2m) flops for a power system with n buses and m line meters. If all lines are metered, there exist canonical forms that characterize all 3, 4, and 5-sparse unobservable attacks. These can be quickly detected with O(n2) flops using standard graph algorithms. Known-secure phasor measurement units [PMUs] can be used as countermeasures against a given collection of cyber attacks. Finding the minimum number of necessary PMUs is NP-hard. It is shown that p+1 PMUs at carefully chosen buses are sufficient to neutralize a collection of p cyber attacks.

GSM based automatic energy meter reading system with instant billing

Abstract: The technology of e-metering (Electronic Metering) has gone through rapid technological advancements and there is increased demand for a reliable and efficient Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) system. This paper presents the design of a simple low cost wireless GSM energy meter and its associated web interface, for automating billing and managing the collected data globally. The proposed system replaces traditional meter reading methods and enables remote access of existing energy meter by the energy provider. Also they can monitor the meter readings regularly without the person visiting each house. A GSM based wireless communication module is integrated with electronic energy meter of each entity to have remote access over the usage of electricity. A PC with a GSM receiver at the other end, which contains the database acts as the billing point. Live meter reading from the GSM enabled energy meter is sent back to this billing point periodically and these details are updated in a central database. A new interactive, user friendly graphical user interface is developed using Microsoft visual studio .NET framework and C#. With proper authentication, users can access the developed web page details from anywhere in the world. The complete monthly usage and due bill is messaged back to the customer after processing these data.

Experimental study and design of smart energy meter for the smart grid

Abstract: The demand for energy is increasing as a result of the growth in both population and industrial development. To improve the energy efficiency, consumers need to be more aware of their energy consumption. In recent years, utilities have started developing new electric energy meters which are known as smart meters. A smart meter is a digital energy meter that measures the consumption of electrical energy and provides other additional information as compared to the traditional energy meter. The aim is to provide the consumer and supplier an easy way to monitor the energy. Smart meters are considered a key component of the smart grid as these will allow more interactivity between the consumers and the provider. Smart meters will enable two-way and real-time communication between the consumers and the provider. Considering the increase of electricity demand in Saudi Arabia, smart meters can decrease the overall energy consumption. This paper presents the development of a GSM and ZigBee based smart meter. This meter can measure the energy and send the information to the service provider, who can store this information and notify the consumer through SMS messages or through the internet.

Monjolo: an energy-harvesting energy meter architecture

Abstract: Conventional AC power meters perform at least two distinct functions: power conversion, to supply the meter itself, and energy metering, to measure the load consumption. This paper presents Monjolo, a new energy-metering architecture that combines these two functions to yield a new design point in the metering space. The key insight underlying this work is that the output of a current transformer -- nominally used to measure a load current -- can be harvested and used to intermittently power a wireless sensor node. The hypothesis is that the node's activation frequency increases monotonically with the primary load's draw, making it possible to estimate load power from the interval between activations, assuming the node consumes a fixed energy quanta during each activation. This paper explores this thesis by designing, implementing, and evaluating the Monjolo metering architecture. The results demonstrate that it is possible to build a meter that draws zero-power under zero-load conditions, offers high accuracy for near-unity power factor loads, works with non-unity power factor loads in combination with a whole-house meter, wirelessly reports readings to a data aggregator, is resilient to communication failures, and is parsimonious with the radio channel, even under heavy loads. Monjolo eliminates the high-voltage AC-DC power supply and AC metering circuitry present in earlier designs, enabling a smaller, simpler, safer, and lower-cost design point that supports novel deployment scenarios like non-intrusive circuit-level metering.

Perpetual and low-cost power meter for monitoring residential and industrial appliances

Abstract: The recent research efforts in smart grids and residential power management are oriented to monitor pervasively the power consumption of appliances in domestic and non-domestic buildings. Knowing the status of a residential grid is fundamental to keep high reliability levels while real time monitoring of electric appliances is important to minimize power waste in buildings and to lower the overall energy cost. Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are a key enabling technology for this application field because they consist of low-power, non-invasive and cost-effective intelligent sensor devices. We present a wireless current sensor node (WCSN) for measuring the current drawn by single appliances. The node can self-sustain its operations by harvesting energy from the monitored current. Two AAA batteries are used only as secondary power supply to guarantee a fast start-up of the system. An active ORing subsystem selects automatically the suitable power source, minimizing power losses typical of the classic diode configuration. The node harvests energy when the power consumed by the device under measurement is in the range 10W÷10kW, which also corresponds to the range of current 50mA÷50A drawn directly from the main. Finally the node features a low-power, 32-bit microcontroller for data processing and a wireless transceiver to send data via the IEEE 802.15.4 standard protocol.

Intelligent electronic device and method thereof

Abstract: An intelligent electronic device (IED) having a gain control unit adapted to selectively regulate operating ranges of output signals of a sensing circuit of the device is described. In one embodiment, the IED is a digital electric power and energy meter, which operating ranges for supply voltages and supply currents of electrical services may be adjusted to match pre-determined ranges for input signals of a data acquisition system or a data processing module of the meter.

A smart prepaid energy metering system to control electricity theft

Abstract: Power utilities in different countries especially in the developing ones are incurring huge losses due to electricity theft. This paper proposes a prepaid energy metering system to control electricity theft. In this system a smart energy meter is installed in every consumer unit and a server is maintained at the service provider side. Both the meter and the server are equipped with GSM module which facilitates bidirectional communication between the two ends using the existing GSM infrastructure. Consumers can easily recharge their energy meter by sending a PIN number hidden in a scratch card to the server using SMS. This paper presents some measures to control meter bypassing and tampering. The bidirectional GSM communication using SMS ensures the effectiveness of these measures. Pilferage of electricity can be substantially reduced by incorporating the proposed measures along with the prepaid metering scheme. Legal actions against dishonest consumers can also be taken in this system.

Enhanced Operation of Electricity Distribution Grids Through Smart Metering PLC Network Monitoring, Analysis and Grid Conditioning

Abstract: Low Voltage (LV) electricity distribution grid operations can be improved through a combination of new smart metering systems’ capabilities based on real time Power Line Communications (PLC) and LV grid topology mapping. This paper presents two novel contributions. The first one is a new methodology developed for smart metering PLC network monitoring and analysis. It can be used to obtain relevant information from the grid, thus adding value to existing smart metering deployments and facilitating utility operational activities. A second contribution describes grid conditioning used to obtain LV feeder and phase identification of all connected smart electric meters. Real time availability of such information may help utilities with grid planning, fault location and a more accurate point of supply management.

Nemo: a high-fidelity noninvasive power meter system for wireless sensor networks

Abstract: In this paper, we present the design and implementation of Nemo -- a practical in situ power metering system for wireless sensor networks. Nemo features a new circuit design called shunt resistor switch that can dynamically adjust the resistance of shunt resistors based on the current load. This allows Nemo to achieve a wide dynamic current range and high measurement accuracy. Nemo transmits real-time power measurements to the host node solely through the power line, by modulating the current load and the supply voltage. This feature leads to a noninvasive, plug & play design that allows Nemo to be easily installed on existing mote platforms without physical wiring or soldering. We have implemented a prototype of Nemo and conducted extensive experimental evaluation. Our results show that Nemo can transmit high-throughput measurement data to the host through voltage/current load modulation. Moreover, it has satisfactory measurement fidelity over a wide range of operating conditions. In particular, Nemo yields a dynamic measurement range of 250,000:1, which is 2.5X and 7X that of two state-of-the-art sensor network power meter systems, while only incurring an average measurement error of 1.34%. We also use a case study to demonstrate that Nemo is able to track the highly dynamic sleep current consumption of TelosB motes, which has important implications for the design of low duty-cycle sensor networks that operate in dynamic environments.

Recognition method of on-line monitoring of power consumption of non-intrusive household appliances

Abstract: The invention discloses a recognition method of on-line monitoring of power consumption of non-intrusive household appliances, and belongs to the field of recognition of the power consumption of the household appliances. By means of an intelligent electricity meter in a family close to the outdoor, instantaneous currents or instantaneous power signals are obtained, the obtained signals are processed, steady state/approximately steady state or transient state characteristics of the signals are obtained, characteristic information of the signals is compared with information in a feature library by means of the crossed weighted method, and therefore equipment which is invested or removed can be recognized. The recognition method is simple in algorithm and accurate in judgment, and does not influence normal operation of the household appliance equipment.

Artificial intelligent meter development based on advanced metering infrastructure technology

Abstract: Smart meter is an advanced energy meter that measures energy consumption in residential, commercial and industrial facilities with additional information related to the power system. This paper aims to review system functions of the latest smart meter technology which incorporates Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). The paper also proposes future smart meter with some modification and improvement of AMI technology by introducing Artificial Intelligence Metering (AIM) techniques where the energy consumed by consumers' appliances is fully supervised by AIM. The AIM function is almost the same as AMI technology, but with some enhancement including schedule of various appliance usage by customers, PV integration and power quality monitoring. These modifications can facilitate consumers to manage their energy usage wisely, meanwhile promoting green technology to the community.

The cognitive power meter: Looking beyond the smart meter

Abstract: The smart meter is often heralded as the key component supporting energy displays that can notify home occupants of their energy usage. But, a smart meter is only a digital power meter with enhanced communications capabilities - it is not actually smart. We need to look beyond the smart meter and define what intelligence is needed to actually make a meter smart. One area with promise is load disaggregation. Load disaggregation can be used to determine what loads contributing to the consumption reading at the smart meter. A smart meter incorporating load disaggregation intelligence can be seen as going beyond the traditional smart meter - what we call a cognitive power meter (c-meter). However, using load disaggregation, in its current form, is not feasible. We critically review the requirements for a c-meter and provide insights as to how load disaggregation research needs to change to make the c-meters a reality.

Method for Detecting Power Theft in a Power Distribution System

Abstract: A method detects power theft in a branch of a distribution system by distinguishing between technical losses that are inevitable during the course of normal operation of the system, and non-technical losses that can be attributed to power theft. The method assumes a specific circuit corresponding to that branch, collects data for energy consumed and currents at regular intervals by means of a smart or traditional power meter, estimates the likely resistances of the lines connecting the consumption points to the distribution transformed by means of least squares regression, and uses the estimated resistances to predict technical losses in future time intervals. By comparing the total power losses measured during future intervals with the estimates of the technical losses, the amount of non-technical losses can be estimated, and theft can be signaled when this amount is unusually high.

Smart metering system

Abstract: The monitoring of the power quality helps to lower the energy costs and to prolong the machine's life. Smart metering is such a complete end to end solution which minimizes the several errors and helps in distributing Quality Power. It is an energy policy for consumers to provide them a user friendly face in dealing with utility (especially the Electricity) bills. It provides the users, a Digital Meter which displays the real time power consumption every time in very friendly and detailed format and a website to analyze their consumption and expenses on energy, using different types of graphs, tabulated and manipulated data. It not only comforts their users but also give relief to the distribution company by minimizing power losses by using automatic Power factor maintenance technique, and providing anti-power theft capability. It also gives a control of power distribution through which Distribution Company can limit the user from exceeding usage of power in specific time duration.

Vertical alternating current charging pile

Abstract: The invention provides a vertical alternating current charging pile. The vertical alternating current charging pile comprises a charging pile body. A charging connector circuit and a main controller are arranged in the inner portion of the charging pile body. One end of the charging connector circuit is connected with an external 220-volt alternating current supply network, and the other end of the charging connector circuit outputs electric energy through a charging socket. An intelligent electricity meter and an alternating current contactor are connected in series on the charging connector circuit through a power source wire from the 220-volt alternating current supply network to the charging socket. Input and output port of the main controller is connected with the alternating current contactor and a signal input and output end of the intelligent electricity meter. An alternating current charging measurement unit and an arithmetic unit are arranged in the inner portion of the intelligent electricity meter. The signal input and output end of the main controller supplies power to three groups of main contacts of the alternating current contactor which are regarded as a charging switch of the alternating current charging and normally open contacts of a relay of the main contact. The vertical alternating current charging electric pile integrates safety, flexibility, intelligence and alarm in one body, meets requirements of the existing intelligent electricity network and is perfect in function, capable of achieving reliable charging of an electric vehicle and wide in development prospect.

Support Vector Machine based automatic electric meter reading system

Abstract: The traditional method of manual electric meter reading is very tedious and is prone to lot of errors and has a lot of disadvantages Some of these disadvantages include low efficiency, man power consuming The existing methods of Automatic Meter Reading are based on measuring the electric impulse of the sensor This is prone to wrong counting of the impulses which leads to faulty meter reading And so a better option is to fit a image acquisition device like camera in front of the meter that will take realtime pictures of the meter readings This picture is then processed, segmented and the individual digits are recognized using unsupervised feature learning technique-Support Vector Machine The advantages of this method is that it can generalize over the large degree of variation between styles and recognition rules can be constructed by example This highly efficient classifier is used for both detection and recognition of these digits

Energy alert power system and method

Abstract: An energy control system, helping to reduce energy consumption from an energy grid, includes a power meter which receives first power-save signal and generates a second power-save signal for receipt by a control device. The target temperature of a thermostat is changed for a period of time in response to the second power-save signal. The control device can create a third power-save signal for receipt by a power-save adapter for an associated energy-consuming unit to permit only limited operation of the energy-consuming unit.

Methods of electrical appliances identification in systems monitoring electrical energy consumption

Abstract: The aim of appliance identification methods is to get electrical energy consumption at appliance level based on aggregate measurements from a single energy meter. Disaggregation of measurements from a single meter allow to reduce the costs of the hardware part of the energy management systems. The article presents results of home appliances identification based on active power measurements. The Factorial Hidden Markov Model is applied to identify different appliances in the same time. Independent changes in active power of every appliance is described by each Markov chain. Having measurements of active power from single meter it is necessary to compute hidden variables defining states of appliance. The Additive Factorial Approximate MAP algorithm allows to designate states of each appliance. Moreover, an analysis of available solutions in terms of measurement frequency and appliance mathematical modeling is presented. We present the flowchart of the prototype appliance identification system with low measurement frequency energy meter. In the experimental part of the article, results of the selected home appliances identification are presented. Based on the results we conclude that probabilistic models of appliances allow to identify appliances working simultaneously.

A Home Appliance Recognition System Using the Approach of Measuring Power Consumption and Power Factor on the Electrical Panel, Based on Energy Meter ICs

Abstract: Currently a large effort is being done with the intention to educate people about how much energy each electrical appliance uses in their houses, since this knowledge is the fundamental basis of energy efficiency programs that can be managed by the household owners. This paper presents a simple yet functional non-intrusive method for electric power measurement that can be applied in energy efficiency programs, in order to provide a better knowledge of the energy consumption of the appliances in a home.

A proposal for an open source energy meter

Abstract: This paper describes the design and the implementation of a prototype for an Alternating Current (AC) energy monitoring device based on an open source concept. The measurement device aims to provide a remote monitoring interface useful for three-phase and single-phase AC power systems. The open-source philosophy has been adopted designing the software components in order to make all features easily customizable by the user. In this way one can easily develop new applications making cost- and time-effective the migration to future smart grid infrastructures.

Intelligent electric meter with function of detecting power supply reliability and voltage qualified rate and detecting method thereof

Abstract: The invention discloses an intelligent electric meter with a function of detecting power supply reliability and a voltage qualified rate and a detecting method of the intelligent electric meter with the function of detecting the power supply reliability and the voltage qualified rate. The intelligent electric meter comprises a voltage sensor and a current sensor, and the voltage sensor and the current sensor are connected with a sampling circuit through a signal adjusting circuit; the sampling circuit is connected with a digital signal processor (DSP); and MCU is simultaneously connected with the DSP, a data memorizer, a power supply module, a local input/output (I/O) module, a remote communication module and a hardware clock. Alternative current voltage data which are collected by the intelligent electric meter not only are used for electric energy measuring and statistics, but also are used for detection and statistics of the power supply reliability and the voltage qualified rate by conducting classification, timing and accumulation on different ranges where the voltage values locate such as an over upper limit range, a qualified range, a over floor level range, a decompression range, the intelligent electric meter is enabled to possess the function of detecting the power supply reliability and the voltage qualified rate, and applied range of the intelligent electric meter is widened.

Power meter with automatic configuration

Abstract: A power monitoring system includes a plurality of current sensors suitable to sense respective changing electrical current within a respective conductor to a respective load and a conductor sensing a respective voltage potential provided to the respective load. A power monitors determines a type of circuit based upon a signal from at least one of the current sensors and a signal from the conductor, wherein the type of circuit includes at least one of a single phase circuit, a two phase circuit, and a three phase circuit. The power meter configures a set of registers corresponding to the determined type of circuit in a manner such that the configuring is different based upon each of the single phase circuit, two phase circuit, and three phase circuit suitable to provide data corresponding to the determined type of circuit.

Empirical analysis of power management schemes for multi-core smartphones

Abstract: Dynamic power management schemes in mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs enhance battery life at the cost of prolonged user-perceived response time while the response time is a crucial factor for user experience. This paper presents systematic analysis of existing power management schemes adopted in recent smartphones in terms of user-perceived response time and energy consumption. For this analysis, we developed a latency measurement benchmark tool to quantify responsiveness to user inputs and used it with an externally-connected power meter to concurrently measure energy consumption and response latency. The evaluation showed that some existing DVFS schemes can significantly harm the response time. More seriously, the analysis revealed that the processor hotplug technique for multi-core systems may reduce responsiveness even without any gain in energy savings.

Multi-function electric meter adapter and method for use

Abstract: An adapter, and a method of using the adapter, for an electric meter, which includes a set of connections for interfacing to a panel box, a set of connectors for interfacing to the electric meter; and circuitry for intercepting FAN or HAN traffic, injecting FAN or HAN traffic and communicating intercepted traffic and local information from the electric meter and sensors over a network to a management entity that collects and process the data. Data from environmental, electric quality, and usage sensors are supplied to the network. External commands, originating in a management entity or with a customer are provided from the network. A computer readable non-transitory storage medium stores instructions of a computer program, which when executed by a computer system results in performance of steps of a method for intercepting FAN or HAN traffic, injecting FAN or HAN traffic, transmitting intercepted FAN or HAN traffic or utility usage data to a network, by using a utility usage sensor to acquire data representing utility usage; and using electrical circuitry in the adapter for communicating information from the sensor over a network to a management entity that collects and process the data.

Power line communication over disconnected service lines

Abstract: A network communication device, such as an electricity meter, is configured to communicate with devices on a circuit internal to a site via power line communication (PLC), even when electricity service to the site is disconnected. The network communication device is configured to monitor one or more circuits internal to the site and to receive power line communications from the device(s) coupled to the circuit internal to the site when the site is disconnected from electricity service. A PLC module of the network communication device may include a switch-based or capacitor-based monitor that maintains a PLC coupler electrically connected with the circuit internal to the site even when electricity service to the site is disconnected.

Design and implementation of digital energy meter with data sending capability using GSM network

Abstract: Efficient use of energy becomes more crucial when increase in the cost of energy is observed. Since energy management is required to define the amount of consumed energy in a specific period of time, utilization of Energy Meters is essential. It is possible to measure the consumed energy by using a simple energy meter. But sometimes the limited functionality of these meters restricts their area of application; especially in inaccessible positions or in the situations where visibility of the meter is poor, it is not possible to use such an appliance. A possible solution is a Wireless Energy Meter (WEM) which is able to send its data via wireless communication to a central server where monitoring and analysis of the data will be easily made. This paper describes the design and implementation of a Digital Energy Meter based on PIC microcontroller. Calculation of the phase difference between current and voltage using Zero Cross Detection capability of op-amp is a distinct feature of this project. Current transformer is used to measure the current signal and a step down potential transformer is used to measure the voltage. SIM900 based GSM module is chosen as a possible wireless solution to this issue.