Smart electricity meters are designed to relay information about
the electricity consumption of a household or business directly to the
utility. The information being monitored, typically in hourly intervals,
include consumption patterns and total usage. The information is
transmitted to the utility via a wireless connection typically once per
day. This information allows the utility to adjust supply based on
anticipated demand and provides the utility with a way to measure your
usage without sending someone out to read the meter. Although the
ultimate goal is to save on energy consumption the meters are not
without their controversy. Fears about data security and RF emissions
have been the biggest obstacles for the utilities to overcome in public
perception.
Smart electricity meters have also been designed to communicate with an in-home system to monitor and regulate the energy consumption of appliances and air conditioning. The information would allow the homeowner to determine times of peak usage and either manually or electronically, in the case of smart devices, to manage appliances or to adjust thermostats remotely. The consumer-oriented portion of the smart technology is largely under development with limited offerings currently available.
Most of the benefits so far have been on the utility side of the electric grid. By monitoring usage patterns the utilities can more adequately plan for peaks and valleys in demand. For example in North Texas, with the largest installed base of smart meters, utilities were able to warn consumers about potential blackouts last summer based on lack of capacity during the hot summer months. The utilities warned that consumption needed to be cut between the hours of 3 PM and 7 PM. With most commercial and industrial users complying blackouts were avoided.
The issues of smart meter security and RF emissions seem to have been largely overblown. Information is transferred over an encrypted network. And with the daily transmission of information taking less than a minute, the RF emissions total about 1/1,000th of the emissions from the daily use of cell phones. Perhaps the biggest obstacle is the fear that Big Brother is watching us, collecting data which can be used against us (ie pricing electricity at higher rates during peak demand). The reality is that peak-demand pricing will likely be upon us in any event.
The real benefit to consumers will be the development of a low-cost monitoring system for home use. That way both sides of the meter can use the information to lower energy costs.
Smart electricity meters have also been designed to communicate with an in-home system to monitor and regulate the energy consumption of appliances and air conditioning. The information would allow the homeowner to determine times of peak usage and either manually or electronically, in the case of smart devices, to manage appliances or to adjust thermostats remotely. The consumer-oriented portion of the smart technology is largely under development with limited offerings currently available.
Most of the benefits so far have been on the utility side of the electric grid. By monitoring usage patterns the utilities can more adequately plan for peaks and valleys in demand. For example in North Texas, with the largest installed base of smart meters, utilities were able to warn consumers about potential blackouts last summer based on lack of capacity during the hot summer months. The utilities warned that consumption needed to be cut between the hours of 3 PM and 7 PM. With most commercial and industrial users complying blackouts were avoided.
The issues of smart meter security and RF emissions seem to have been largely overblown. Information is transferred over an encrypted network. And with the daily transmission of information taking less than a minute, the RF emissions total about 1/1,000th of the emissions from the daily use of cell phones. Perhaps the biggest obstacle is the fear that Big Brother is watching us, collecting data which can be used against us (ie pricing electricity at higher rates during peak demand). The reality is that peak-demand pricing will likely be upon us in any event.
The real benefit to consumers will be the development of a low-cost monitoring system for home use. That way both sides of the meter can use the information to lower energy costs.
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