SmartMeters

Wurldtech announces comprehensive smart grid security strategy

Angus Doyle — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:51:00 +0000

Wurldtech Security Technologies, a leading developer of Internet testing and certification solutions for critical systems, has unveiled a comprehensive strategy that will improve the security of the future smart grid.

Wurldtech plans to test wireless communications within its tried and true Achilles Satellite testing environment in order to determine what security vulnerabilities exist within emerging smart grid technologies and how to address those issues. The firm also announced that it will establish the world’s first research institute dedicated to cyber security. It will become a global repository of best practices for secure energy infrastructure.

The global research centre, funded by the largest energy companies in the world, government agencies, and other industry players, will focus on three topics:

* Establishing a cyber security test bed and demonstration centre that simulates always-available automation networks along with AMI [advanced metering infrastructure]

* A centrally managed but distributed team of cyber security experts hailing from diverse backgrounds to conduct research and provide consulting services

* Creation of a Web portal that will function as an information repository for registered users, a training environment for cyber security in the workplace, and as a source for online certification from Wurldtech

TXU Energy uses broadband for new energy management services

Angus Doyle — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:32:00 +0000

TXU Energy, based in Texas, is embracing broadband Internet connections to help customers better manage their energy consumption. Recently, the energy retailer introduced a smart thermostat that benefits energy distributors as well as consumers.

Called the iThermostat, the new energy-saving device was first introduced in 2008. The thermostat connects to the Internet through a home broadband connection and allows homeowners to remotely access and control their heating and cooling. The iThermostat also has a mechanism that can be accessed by TXU Energy to cycle off the air conditioning during times of critically high demand for short periods of time.

Customers can track and monitor their heating and cooling costs from anywhere in the world and can also receive email alerts detailing efficiency tips and daily consumption estimates. “Our focus is on helping customers control their energy use so they can save money,” said Jim Burke, CEO of TXU Energy, in a June news release.

Study says AMI rollout will be slow

Angus Doyle — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:42:00 +0000

Despite the combined efforts of government, regulators, suppliers, and utilities, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) has not been rapidly rolled out for the public. Even though the AMI market is expected to grow at a blistering 20% pace in North America over the next five years, little of that growth will occur this year or the next according to a study from ARC Advisory Group. The study says that in 2013 the market is expected to be worth $4.684 billion – up from $1.839 billion last year.

The ARC study said there were several circumstances that continue to keep AMI from exploding onto the market. Reasons cited include a lack of standards, fragmented regulators, and the extended timelines utilities need to design, develop, and implement AMI infrastructure.

“AMI is a foundational piece of the future smart grid,” said ARC’s Harry Forbes, one of the authors of the study. “Yet the existing standards for meter communication are very immature compared with Internet technologies, as indicated by the lack of multi-vendor device interoperability.”

“Also it has been a challenge to scale some of these new HAN [home area network] technologies to installations of only 1000-2000 endpoints, let alone several million,” continued Forbes. “Utilities are reticent to vastly scale up their AMI installations at huge expense given the present level of technology risk and the rate of technology development.”

ARC forecasts a growth rate of 20.6% compounded over a 5-year

Kamstrup introduces highly efficient smart meter

Angus Doyle — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:21:00 +0000

Utilities around the world are currently replacing conventional metering devices with modern smart meters. Consumers benefit from their use along with utility companies as they learn how to use energy much more efficiently.

Utilising a smart meter, consumers are able to discover ways to alter their usage habits in order to save money by observing historical patterns and by checking the price of electricity in real time. However, smart meters also use energy. Little attention has been paid to the efficiency of smart meters.

Kamstrup has paid attention to efficiency and has launched a new generation of smart meters it is referring to as “The Green Difference.” These residential smart meters have the lowest power consumption of any smart meter currently available on the market.

Tapping into their extensive experience with battery design, Kamstrup’s new smart meters only require 0.6 watts of power to function. In a year’s time the smart meter will only consume 5 kilowatts of electricity. Large utilities are installing hundreds of thousands of smart meters. By installing Kamstrup smart meters, utility companies can make a big difference in efficiency that will benefit customers and the environment.

The low power consumption does not come at the expense of functionality. The Kamstrup smart meter supports the DLMS/COSEM communications protocol to guarantee interoperability anywhere on the planet and supports the latest in home automation. Remote meter reads and power management as well as intelligent

Washington high-tech industry wising up to smart grid

Angus Doyle — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:23:00 +0000

The high-tech industry in southwest Washington has realised the smart grid presents excellent business opportunities. Research laboratories in the region have already developed smart grid products and plan to claim a slice of the $4.1 billion in stimulus funding. Other companies are strategizing on how to enter the developing market.

The smart grid market, already worth $6 billion, is expected to grow in value by an astronomical 21 percent for the next five years according to the Specialists in Business Information based in Rockville, MD.

“The development and deployment of smart grid will involve all our tech businesses at some time,” said Bart Phillips, president of the Columbia River Economic Development Council located in Vancouver, Washington. “The whole knowledge base is basically in Vancouver and Portland; we’re ground zero for smart grid here in the Northwest.

Aging electrical infrastructure throughout the United States and the world requires a major upgrade. By bringing electric power into the information age, utilities will gain precise control over their assets and consumers will be able to closely monitor their energy consumption and actively participate in energy conservation programs.

The opportunities are significant for tech firms based in southwest Washington. Every smart device will need some sort of microprocessor to allow for communications bi-directionally among power plants, utilities, and consumers. The region is home to 340 high-tech companies plus leading research laboratories including the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Washington firm develops smart grid device

Angus Doyle — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:22:00 +0000

The Allyn Technology Group (ATG) of Allyn, Washington has developed a device it believes will become a cost-effective smart grid solution for local utilities that lack the big bucks required for the deployment of extensive advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). The group is currently testing the device that it says will encourage energy conservation. The tests are being conducted at several locations in the area including the North Mason Chamber of Commerce.

The new device is capable of providing an “energy profile” of appliances located within a home or business. At the chamber of commerce, the energy used to heat water is profiled on a daily basis. The building’s managers then look to the profile for insights into how the hot water heater can be used more efficiently to save energy and money.

ATG’s prototype can also remotely turn appliances on and off. Using a wireless connection, officials at the Mason County Public Utility District (PUD) could cycle the power on and off to the chamber’s water heater to reduce demand for energy and lower the monthly bill. Chamber officials can override the remote access of the system with the push of a button should it prove to be an inconvenient time for the water heater to be cycled off.

The system could also be deployed on a much larger scale with the local community. Participating homeowners could allow the PUD to turn off all the water heaters

Yello Strom brings smart metering to Twitter

Angus Doyle — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:21:00 +0000

German utility Yello Strom announced that it has developed a prototype where smart meters “tweet” customers’ energy consumption information. The forward-thinking energy provider is already the first in Europe to offer access to Google’s PowerMeter service and has successfully integrated broadband Internet with energy management.

Yello Strom, a subsidiary of the third largest German utility, is banking on the idea that broadband connections will transform how consumers use energy. “There’s close to a revolution happening,” said Martin Vesper, executive director of Yello Strom, regarding the combination of the Internet and energy management.

The Internet has already revolutionised how consumers access and consume media, purchase products, work, and communicate. It’s not much of a stretch to consider what broadband Internet can do for energy conservation and the environment. Yello Strom believes the energy revolution will redefine the role utilities play as well.

Germany’s energy industry is deregulated and open to competition. The emergence of Yello Strom reflects the need to innovate in order to attract customers. Germans are free to choose what company will provide their energy. Realising that consumers want more than the lowest rate from their utility, new and revolutionary products and services have become available as a result. Deregulation demands that utilities differentiate from one another to survive. After all, prices can only be lowered to a certain point.

Yello Strom has developed and marketed its own smart meters after finding disappointment in what

PG&E waiting for smart grid standards

Angus Doyle — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:21:00 +0000

In recent weeks many utilities have announced major deals with third-party developers of smart grid software. One that hasn’t made such an announcement is Pacific Gas & Electric. Andy Tang, senior director of the Smart Energy Web at PG&E spoke with Reuters this week about why the company has not chosen a third-party developer.

Tang said that the giant California utility’s strategy is to wait for the Open Smart Grid group to come up with a standard interface for energy management software before it decides to sign up for Google’s PowerMeter, Microsoft’s Hohm, or similar offerings from other companies.

“I don’t want to pick winners,” said Tang. “I want to work on more of a neutral ground.” Tang went on to explain that with the numerous development firms and their various options for energy management, PG&E is hesitant to pick one unless the integration is seamless and processes involved are standardised. Tang said that PG&E isn’t going to develop software for third parties because the utility lacks those resources.

The Open Smart Grid group’s members include diverse utilities and third-party vendors and serves as a clearinghouse for best practices and industry standards. Eventually the participating members will incorporate the group’s standards into their software development.

Cisco introduces smart energy system for large buildings

Angus Doyle — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:34:00 +0000

Cisco is targeting large corporate facilities with its new Building Mediator. Much has been said about smart meters installed in residents’ homes while the largest energy consumers have rarely been mentioned. Cisco announced the new product, which works with the company’s networking hardware to monitor and regulate energy consumption, on July 1.

Corporate users make up a larger share of the market than residential consumers. Targeting this lucrative segment could give Cisco a head start in the race to become the dominant developer of networked smart grid infrastructure.

With prices beginning at $5,000, the Building Mediator builds upon Cisco’s “Energy Wise” strategy that was announced earlier in 2009. At the time Energy Wise was announced, Cisco offered free upgrades to its Catalyst hardware devices. The upgrade allows building managers to monitor and control the energy consumption of IP-addressable office devices.

Cisco developed the Building Mediator in collaboration with Johnson Controls, Schneider Electric, and Verdiem – all companies that specialise in automation development. The system works to connect a building’s power supply, including heating, ventilation, lighting, and IT systems, with the company’s network. Network administrators can then set up rules for the entire building that determine how energy is used throughout.

A swipe of a security badge identifies an individual within the system. Personal office lights could then be switched on, for example, along with the computer and air conditioning. When the employee leaves for the day,

Itron and Ambient form new partnership

Angus Doyle — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:31:00 +0000

Itron announced on June 30 that it had agreed to a formal memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Ambient Corporation. The collaboration will combine Itron’s smart metering solution with the Ambient Smart Grid communications platform. The integrated technologies will create a robust smart grid solution that the Itron and Ambient will both market to utility companies.

Itron is a leading provider of metering devices to energy and water utilities around the world. There are currently more than 14 million OpenWay meters under contract. Itron serves more than 8,000 utilities worldwide.

Ambient develops and markets smart grid technology, equipment, and services. The company’s technologies run over Verizon Wireless’ cellular network.

The contractual terms call for Itron’s OpenWay smart metering platform to be closely integrated with communications technology from Ambient. The development will allow legacy equipment to be connected to the smart grid as well as the latest smart energy hardware and applications.

“This is further proof that the OpenWay architecture is adaptable to multiple networks in support of smart grid deployments,” said Philip Mezey, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Itron North America. “Building the smart grid requires unprecedented collaboration. Our partnership with Ambient will help both our companies extend smart grid benefits to more energy users.”

Multiple technologies will be included from both companies. Itron’s ERT technology, which is used for automated meter reading (AMR), will be used as will the