A smarter grid through IoT

TI has increased the availability of its field-tested metering evaluation kits and expanded its metering IC product line with larger memory, higher security and accuracy. For example, as part of its MCU portfolio, TI's new polyphase meter kit is based on the MSP430F6679 SoC, providing developers with best-in-class accuracy, larger integrated memory and more advanced anti-tamper protection. The meter accuracy achieved by these SoCs meets or exceeds many standards of many smart polyphase meters in the world, including IEC 62053-22 and ANSI C12.20 Class 0.2 standards. In addition, up to 512KB of integrated flash memory can realize more complex meter functions, such as dynamic pricing tables, DLMS/COSEM or network access stacks.

TI is committed to meeting the needs of different network access solutions and provides the industry's richest product portfolio for smart grid network access, including Sub-1 GHz, 2.4 GHz, Wi-Fi®, ZigBee, NFC and PLC. In addition to being an active founding member of major PLC alliances, TI has also used its rich expertise and a large number of field trials to develop the industry's first PLC device, integrating support for PRIME, G3 and the trial version of IEEE P1901.2 narrowband OFDM PLC on the same chip. This device allows developers to easily develop smart meters for future needs, which can efficiently transmit data through existing power lines in any country in the world. As shown in the "Smart Meter Board 3.0" video, TI provides many unique system solutions that combine analog and digital hardware components with related software stacks to support various smart meter architectures in the world.

The next step is the deployment of smart meters

Although the deployment of network-based meters started initially in the power industry, the flow meter market (gas, water, heat and heating usage distributors) is also gaining momentum, and millions of these devices are expected to be deployed in the near future. A 2012 report by Pike Research predicts that the global smart water meter population will continue to grow, nearly tripling from 10.3 million in 2011 to 29.9 million by 2017. This is even more true for gas meters, where annual shipments will increase from 1.9 million in 2010 to 7.8 million in 2016 (Pike Research 2011 report). The European Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) has driven the development of the "20-20-20" plan, which aims to address the industry's long-standing challenges in maintaining a low-cost, secure and sustainable energy supply. As part of this plan, the 20% energy efficiency target is driving large-scale use of smart gas meters in countries such as the UK (with the largest number of deployments, 22 million), followed by Italy (21 million) and France (11 million) (data from Van Dyke 2011 and Innovent 2010 reports).

In addition, the transition from simple meters to smart flow meters involves communication and cross-device network connectivity.

Figure 2 shows different network access methods for a common flow meter topology. LPRF radios are typically used in battery-powered gas or water meters to communicate with another meter in a mesh network or with a data logger on top of a traditional wired solution (e.g., wired MBUS). The meter can also receive tariff information, firmware updates, or valve-off activation commands, which are often used in conjunction with prepayment features (sometimes based on NFC systems). Battery life expectancy ranges from 10 to more than 15 years, which presents a challenge for flow meter manufacturers. Power requirements can be addressed at the system level by using the right power supply design to maintain the specified power output and radio performance without battery drain. For example, the TPS62730 step-down converter and MSP430™ microcontrollers used in TI's growing family of Sub-1 GHz wM-Bus solutions, such as the SimpleLink™ CC1120 RF transceiver, are ideal for providing the industry's best selectivity and isolation performance. This system-level solution also has the lowest system power consumption, ensuring that the meter can operate outdoors for many years without battery replacement.

Traffic meters or any battery-powered end node (e.g., wireless sensor) network access functions require a system-level approach that combines analog and digital hardware with software. For example, TI has demonstrated that the use of TSCH combined with the RPL routing protocol and the 802.15.4e MAC layer of IPv6 can greatly improve the longevity, reliability, coverage, and scalability of sensor network applications (see video). IoT requirements have brought an impact on future network devices, but the devices and applications determine the feasibility of IoT.

In addition to the higher bill of materials (BOM) that a modular, more risk-averse approach often brings, design reuse offers the potential for cost savings in complex smart meter designs targeting multiple markets. For example, using the same MCU platform based on the ultra-low-power MSP430F5435A MCU for both the Sub-1 GHz and 2.4 GHz markets, or using the same RF module based on TI’s SimpleLink CC1200 Sub-1 GHz transceiver for both gas and water meter solutions. IC suppliers also often offer pin-compatible MCU or RF families with larger memory and/or higher system performance (Stefanov 2012 report). This flexibility can significantly reduce the resources required for subsequent design modifications. For meter manufacturers, this means lower manufacturing costs and greater return on investment. For smart grids, it also means faster deployment of network access equipment, as regulations and standards are already established.

Regulations and standards are key to large-scale deployment of network equipment

Regulations that influence the use of smart meters and determine the functions of meters. For example, the US Department of Defense appears to be seeking to acquire government infrastructure managed by the General Services Administration (GSA) in order to obtain federal budget fees. Like the United States, mainland China is also playing a central role in energy conservation by launching "smart city" projects. In particular, the Sub-1 GHz band is more suitable for signal coverage of large apartment buildings.

Standards ensure interoperability between products from multiple vendors, making large-scale deployment possible and making the smart grid a reality. For example, today’s narrowband OFDM transmission line communication standard, the PRIME Alliance has launched full smart meters in Spain and Poland (an important pilot project), while the G3-PLC Alliance is doing the same in France, the Netherlands, Japan and other countries. For flow meters, the wireless MBus 169MHz communication standard is now mature in Europe and is being implemented in large-scale gas meter deployment plans in France and Italy.

At the same time, various standards continue to develop and get implementation (hardware and software), and it is important to keep up with the pace of development. For example, to promote the development of power line communication on a global scale and provide smart grid developers with future-oriented designs, TI has used its rich expertise and field trials to develop the industry's first PLC device to support PRIME, G3 and the pilot version of IEEE P1901.2 narrowband OFDM PLC on the same chip.

On the RF side, the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is currently working on the second edition of its Smart Metering Equipment Technical Specification (SMETS). According to the second edition of SMETS, 2.4 GHz and 868 MHz (ZigBee SEP v1.x is the recommended application layer for gas meters) are recommended as the UK RF communication standards, while 2.4GHz meters continue to be developed and deployed, so the possibility of supporting 868MHz meters in the future increases the design complexity of smart meters for future needs.

Today, in order for smart grids to be successfully connected, they must comply with specified standards. As one of the founding members of major PLC alliances, TI is actively participating in various standard organizations, including ZigBee, WISUN, IEEE 802.15.4g, etc., with the goal of providing customers with leading hardware and software solutions. Various standards and regulations make software and communication stack availability critical to smart grids and the Internet of Things.

Today, millions of meters are already connected to the Internet, and the momentum for a networked grid is growing. However, to realize its full potential, the first step in building a networked smart grid is to move from mechanical meters to smart electronic meters to establish two-way communication between meters and public service providers. Changing regulations and standards are driving this trend, but they also emphasize the importance of hardware and software flexibility. The second step is the automation of the grid infrastructure, connecting transmission and distribution by establishing a communication network between distribution substations.

The question turns to smart substations: Network access is the key to automation

The grid topology is changing from a radial centralized topology to a mesh topology with multiple energy sources distributed.

From power generation to power consumption, distribution stations are a key part of the power grid equipment, connecting power departments, homes and buildings. Distribution stations are responsible for transforming and transmitting electricity, isolating and changing transmission paths as needed, managing and coordinating distributed solar and wind power, and handling power outages and restoring power supply (see Figure 3)

Figure 3 Power grid and distribution station automation communication network

Being able to dynamically locate, map, monitor and control substations at the city, state or national level is one of the key goals of automated distribution to ensure better operation of the grid. Again, the solution is to use networked substations to establish an electric information network. First, distribution systems are evolving from multi-copper wired proprietary buses to Ethernet communications. This communication function is achieved through intelligent equipment devices (IEDs) installed inside substations, which can be newly installed devices or retrofitted to existing equipment. Second, like other meters, products provided by different equipment manufacturers inside substations need to be interoperable and share collected data to achieve large-scale deployment. The IEC 61850 industry standard implemented inside IEDs can solve this problem. Using IEC 61850, substation internal equipment such as circuit breakers, transformers and generators work together to establish a time-sensitive network, collect all substation information at a central work center, and also establish two-way communication. With connected smart meters and substations, we are moving towards a complete networked smart grid (Figure 3).

As part of the substation equipment, communication data concentrators are installed at the substation and transformer level, and their deployment pace is the same as that of smart meters. Figure 4 shows the block diagram of TI's latest smart data concentrator. It has the highest flexibility and scalability, as well as a variety of performance, cost and network access options, so that developers can design data concentrators that adapt to any smart grid standard in the world. Smart data concentrators enable advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) and sensor network automation applications, allowing power departments to connect and manage more than 2,000 smart meters simultaneously. The smart data concentrator contains TI's highly scalable Sitara™ AM3359 processor and many flexible peripheral devices to implement multiple wired and wireless network access methods, including Sub-1 GHz, 2.4 GHz ZigBee, Wi-Fi, NFC and multiple PLC standards (G3, PRIME, IEEE P1901.2, PLC-Lite™). The accompanying PLC system-on-module, together with TI's PLC software stack, allows smart grid developers to easily build a data concentrator demonstration with PLC network access in less than 10 minutes.

Figure 4 TI network data concentrator structure diagram

Similarly, TI's smart grid solutions reduce complexity, shorten time to market and promote the development of the Internet of Things by integrating complete system-level solutions of both hardware and software. From metering and management to energy information communication, TI provides complementary software to provide a complete solution for smart grid and Internet of Things developers.

Energy savings, comfort and safety: what smart grids and the Internet of Things mean for consumers

In the United States, smart meter deployment has received early development promotion funds, and regional power companies in 10 states have begun pilot deployments in the market, promoting and educating consumers to encourage the use of smart meters, and more importantly, to achieve the practical goal of energy saving. One of the benefits of smart grids is that maintenance teams can identify power outages in advance through the community's communication system. By asking households and office buildings about the situation, important power infrastructure can be quickly restored, which is faster than the traditional self-reporting power outage method. The important role of the demand response system is to connect smart appliances to the power monitoring portal, allowing consumers to postpone electricity use and avoid peak power consumption periods.

The use of smart sockets, home displays, and smart thermostats (Figure 5) allows consumers to choose the home devices they want to monitor. Simply connect the home appliance to the smart socket and join the home network. Through ZigBee or Wi-Fi, users can access the network and obtain information through the home gateway, or use a smart phone or tablet to directly access the Internet through the cloud network. Compared with high-end home appliances using smart technology, consumers are accepting smart sockets much faster because they are lower in price and can be retrofitted to existing home appliances. TI is reducing the complexity of sub-meters by integrating its complementary metering methods, network access and processors into an easy-to-use, low-power solution. For example, TI's SimpleLink CC3000 Wi-Fi module and MSP430 microcontroller have realized a simple sub-meter application design, making Wi-Fi implementation for embedded applications simpler and inspiring many innovations in the industry.

Figure 5: Smart grid access to realize smart home services

Connecting devices in buildings and homes is one of the next steps to realize all the benefits that smart grids can bring us. Now, many innovative solutions and convenient applications are already in front of consumers. For example, the UK or Japan have mandatory deployment of dedicated home energy gateways, smart hubs or energy management systems, which allow consumers to benefit greatly from smart grids and the Internet of Things.

in conclusion

From grid infrastructure to smart meters installed in homes and buildings, regulations and standards continue to drive the adoption of network devices throughout the smart grid industry. Although the migration to smart meters will increase complexity, the return on investment is becoming increasingly clear (for example, better user experience and higher energy efficiency). The grid itself is also changing, moving towards a fully automated distribution substation network, and network data concentrators are already being deployed.

The network access and data access functions brought by the Internet of Things further enhance the user experience, improve efficiency, and allow users to interact and control to a greater extent. In addition, through fault diagnosis and community meter information reading functions, the Internet of Things also provides manufacturers and power departments with richer data, thereby reducing various cost expenditures. Ultimately, the Internet of Things will bring us a smart grid with higher networking, cost-effectiveness and intelligence.

References

• Cisco IBSG (April 2011), “The Internet of Things”

• Itron (July 29, 2010), “French GRDF selects Itron to deploy smart meter system” (press release)

• Pike Research (March 24, 2011), “Smart Gas Meter Adoption to Reach 11% by 2016” (Press Release)

• Pike Research (May 23, 2012), “No increase in water demand is a key driver for smart water meter adoption” (press release)

• Stefanov (2012), Realizing the Next Generation of Smart Meters

• van Dyck (2011), “The development of smart gas meters in Europe”, Measurement International (4) pp. 44-46