Solar panels on rooftops of our houses are becoming increasingly common. Suppose the panels have surplus energy on a day to meet your household needs and excess energy is most likely to get wasted. Imagine a electricity grid in which you can feed in the excess energy from the solar panel to the grid and get paid for it from the utility companies. Or you run an industry and require to know energy consumption pattern in real time of your unit so that you are able to optimize it to save costs. Such a scenario is bound to become a reality in coming years as smart grids are adopted across the world.
India in July 2012 faced the world's biggest blackout in history as its northern and northern-eastern grids failed resulting from overdrawing of power from the grids. Smart grids mitigates such risks. Smart grid are electricity grids equipped with information and digital communication technologies enabling the utility company or consumer to monitor the energy consumption pattern in real time via internet to optimize the energy consumption, minimize its losses and avoid blackouts or brownouts. Such Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) essentially make the electricity grids 'SMART'. Here's how.
Smart grids introduces a two-way communication between a utility company and its customers allowing them to exchange data about electricity consumption. It essentially consists of a data storing meter that monitors consumption coupled with a communicator that is connected to the internet(via GSM, GPRS, Wi-Fi, etc.) and a controlling device for demand response and management and dynamic system control. Data about electricity consumption can be seen online on a web dashboard or an app from anywhere across the world to better manage our energy needs.
Here's how Smart Grids will bring revolution in Energy Management:
Demand Response and load adjustment
Utility companies face a very peak demand of power at many times of day such as at morning when lot of industries start functioning their machines simultaneously. Such high demand may not be able to met by the utility company which may result in blackout, so it requests other potential participants( consumer/ industries) to cut its own consumption of energy to reduce demand and the consumer gets benefits in form of better/ cheaper tariffs when the demand is normal. Such method of reducing demand during the peak hours is known as demand response and load adjustment.
Demand response and load adjustment help utility companies cut costs resulting from blackouts or turning on extra stand-by generators to meet the high demand. Benefits resulting from these to utility company is shared with the consumer in form of better tariffs.
Real-time energy consumption monitoring and pattern analysis
Utility companies can monitor the energy consumption pattern of an area, region or consumer in real time so that it can optimize its energy generation by knowing at what time of the day is their high possibility of a peak demand and preparing in advance to meet the energy demand and hence cutting costs.
Industries/ manufacturing units too monitor their energy consumption by installing an internet connected energy meter at their premises. Real time monitoring of the data enable them to gain control of electricity usage, optimize energy consumption, see projected costs, access data 24/7 and cut supply when usage goes beyond a limit i.e. demand management. Most importantly, it connects them with the utility companies and get benefits of demand response management.
Advanced Metering Infrastructure for demand response
India in July 2012 faced the world's biggest blackout in history as its northern and northern-eastern grids failed resulting from overdrawing of power from the grids. Smart grids mitigates such risks. Smart grid are electricity grids equipped with information and digital communication technologies enabling the utility company or consumer to monitor the energy consumption pattern in real time via internet to optimize the energy consumption, minimize its losses and avoid blackouts or brownouts. Such Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) essentially make the electricity grids 'SMART'. Here's how.
Smart grids introduces a two-way communication between a utility company and its customers allowing them to exchange data about electricity consumption. It essentially consists of a data storing meter that monitors consumption coupled with a communicator that is connected to the internet(via GSM, GPRS, Wi-Fi, etc.) and a controlling device for demand response and management and dynamic system control. Data about electricity consumption can be seen online on a web dashboard or an app from anywhere across the world to better manage our energy needs.
Here's how Smart Grids will bring revolution in Energy Management:
Demand Response and load adjustment
Utility companies face a very peak demand of power at many times of day such as at morning when lot of industries start functioning their machines simultaneously. Such high demand may not be able to met by the utility company which may result in blackout, so it requests other potential participants( consumer/ industries) to cut its own consumption of energy to reduce demand and the consumer gets benefits in form of better/ cheaper tariffs when the demand is normal. Such method of reducing demand during the peak hours is known as demand response and load adjustment.
Demand response and load adjustment help utility companies cut costs resulting from blackouts or turning on extra stand-by generators to meet the high demand. Benefits resulting from these to utility company is shared with the consumer in form of better tariffs.
Real-time energy consumption monitoring and pattern analysis
Utility companies can monitor the energy consumption pattern of an area, region or consumer in real time so that it can optimize its energy generation by knowing at what time of the day is their high possibility of a peak demand and preparing in advance to meet the energy demand and hence cutting costs.
Industries/ manufacturing units too monitor their energy consumption by installing an internet connected energy meter at their premises. Real time monitoring of the data enable them to gain control of electricity usage, optimize energy consumption, see projected costs, access data 24/7 and cut supply when usage goes beyond a limit i.e. demand management. Most importantly, it connects them with the utility companies and get benefits of demand response management.
Advanced Metering Infrastructure for demand response
Smart meters at your premise that continuously monitors power consumed and upload it to the internet in real time will not only enable consumer to connect with utility company for demand response but will also save a lot of time and cost since utility company can prepare monthly bills without having to go to the customer premises to note the readings. Essentially, it is a way communication between consumer and utility company.
Distributed generation of power-sell surplus power
Generation of electricity is essentially a centralized generation with only one or two companies in a city generating power. Such centralized generation is seen as potentially risky and too dependent since a single hazard or attack at the generating facility from enemy will result in cut-off power in the region for days.
Smart grids mitigate this risk by enabling distributed generation of power allowing every consumer to feed surplus power from its premises into the grid and in turn,the consumer receiving monetary benefits. As more and more consumers employ self-generating facilities (solar panels at rooftops, wind energy, etc.) at their premises, distributed generation offers a great potential for achieving efficient transmission of power. For eg., utility company can know in advance that consumer is having surplus power and take smart decisions to minimize losses of power.
Companies in India that work on Smart Grids:
Smart grids mitigate this risk by enabling distributed generation of power allowing every consumer to feed surplus power from its premises into the grid and in turn,the consumer receiving monetary benefits. As more and more consumers employ self-generating facilities (solar panels at rooftops, wind energy, etc.) at their premises, distributed generation offers a great potential for achieving efficient transmission of power. For eg., utility company can know in advance that consumer is having surplus power and take smart decisions to minimize losses of power.
Companies in India that work on Smart Grids:
- Ecolibrium Energy
- General Electric
- Siemens
- Capgemini
- HCL Infosystems
- Telvent
- Larsen and Tubro
- ABB
- eMeter
- Kema
- Landis
- Schneider Electric
- http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-07-21/mysore/40708349_1_smart-grid-technology-chamundeshwari-electricity-supply-company-central-power-research-institute
- http://www.eco-business.com/press-releases/smart-grid-market-in-india-2013-industry-survey-report/
- http://smartgrid-for-india.blogspot.in/
- http://www.smartgrid.gov
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