Smart Metering Communications Issues and Technologies
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This document discusses smart metering communications issues and technologies. It presents 9 potential communications architectures for smart meters in UK homes to meet requirements like remote reading and control. The architectures vary in how they integrate the local networks for electricity meters, gas meters, home appliances and the street-level network. The document also discusses challenges like standards, security, performance and ownership models for the different network components.
Smart Metering Communications Issues and Technologies
- 1. 19 February 2009 Smart Metering Communications Issues and Technologies IET – Smart Metering 2009 – Making it Happen Alistair Morfey
- 2. 2 19 February 2009 We need Smart Meters to help address … Climate Change – On average, UK citizens generate 30 kg of CO2/day. – www.WithoutHotAir.com, Prof David MacKay, Cambridge University Physics Dept. Energy Security – On average, UK citizens consume 120 kWh/day (i.e 5 kW) Legal commitments – EU Triple-20 targets by 2020 (v 1990) – 20% reduction of energy consumption – 20% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions – 20% of energy from renewables – UK 2050 targets (v 1990) – 80% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
- 3. 3 19 February 2009 Smart meter activity so far … Most meter manufacturers are international. Many energy suppliers are international. Existing smart meter installations are by single electricity suppliers for E-meters only, e.g: – Italy, Enel – Sweden – USA, California Southern Edison National standards are now being developed for Electricity and Gas meters (and Water and Heat meters in some cases) : – Netherlands, EnergieNed, NTA specifications, Dutch Smart Meter Requirements – Germany, OMS (Open Metering System) – UK, ERA (Energy Retail Association), SRSM (Supplier Requirements for Smart Meters), LAN and WAN committees. Govt Dept = DECC (was BERR). EU meters conform to MID (Measuring Instruments Directive) for metrology – MID is stable. Smart Meter requirements are fairly unstable (especially at higher comms layers). – Bill disputes must be resolvable under the glass of the meter itself.
- 4. 4 19 February 2009 Special requirements for UK domestic Smart Meters We want to change all domestic meters to Smart Meters by 2020 : – 25M Electricity Meters (E-meters) – 22M Gas Meters (G-meters) User/Comms view of Gas and Electricity Meters should be the same. Interoperable standards – No meter change required when User changes Supplier All meters configurable as Credit or Pre-payment (Pay As You Go) meters : – By remote software configuration – E-meters contain a mains contact switch – G-meters contain a valve – Payment done without tokens (credit download from Head-End computer) – Must be able to download credit to E-meter even when E-supply is off (switch open) – Meters must handle money. Thick meters are much more complicated than Thin meters. Time-of-use tariffs on 30-minute steps (up to 48 different tariffs/day) 2-way Comms between meters and Head End Computer enables many functions : – Remote meter reading, credit downloads, software upgrades (security nightmare), etc … Support electricity micro-generation Support demand-side management (directly by ‘Big Brother control or indirectly by time-of-use price ?)
- 5. 5 19 February 2009 Smart Meters contain 2-way communications for … Electricity Meter Gas Meter Display M Home Appliance Appliance Appliances Gateway M H H H Green boxes are owned by the home occupier. White boxes are not owned by the home occupier. White boxes are normally owned by utility companies. M = Meter comms = LAN (Local Area Network) H = Home Automation comms = LAN (Local Area Network) S = Street level comms (if data concentrator used) W = WAN (Wide Area Network) MH = single comms for M and H MS = single comms for M and S MHS = single comms for M and H and S S Head End Computer Energy Supplier W PC or TV H M Data Concentrator Street S W Metrology requirements tend to be stable through time. User and commercial requirements tend to be fast changing.
- 6. 6 19 February 2009 We should start with the Gas meter, not the Electricity meter … £pence/kWh Gas Electricity E/G Ratio Primary 6.5 26.4 3 Secondary 3.5 10.8 4 Far more kWh energy goes through our Gas meters than through our Electricity meters. – Most gas domestic bills are higher than electricity, despite being about 4 times cheaper per kWh. Good design practice : Solve the hard cases first, then the easier ones – We want a common LAN communications standard for E and G meters. – Much less power available in battery-powered G-meter than mains-powered E-meter : – One AA battery (Lithium Thionyl Chloride) for 15 years = 15 uA average – Any LAN communications that works on a G-meter can be transferred to an E- meter. – Many LAN communications that work on an E-meter cannot be transferred to a G-meter.
- 7. 7 19 February 2009 Comms Architecture – Italy (Enel installation) www.enel.it
- 8. 8 19 February 2009 Comms Architecture – Netherlands (NTA standard) M = Wireless M-Bus T2 (EN13757-4) S = PLC
- 9. 9 19 February 2009 Comms Architecture – Germany (OMS standard) www.m-u-c.org M = Wireless M-Bus T2 or S2 (EN13757-4) SML (Smart Message Language), SyM2 E-meter, www.t-l-z.org
- 10. 10 19 February 2009 Trade-offs in choosing the Comms Architecture … Engineers v Economists ! – Engineers want standardisation and high volume – Economists want competition at every level in the commercial model Revolution (white box rollout) v Evolution (subsequent green box growth) Flexibility v Cost – Total UK system installation cost (ease of network configuration) – Total UK annual operating cost – How easily can it absorb new comms standards as they emerge (translation boxes) ? – Backward compatibility (3 meter installations is 45 years !) Total UK energy consumption (should use less than it saves !) Performance / functionality – Support all SRSM requirements – Integrate with Home Automation – Achieve the greatest UK reduction of : – Energy consumption – Greenhouse gas emission Security – Separate logical networks may share same physical layer, but must have clear separation of different security levels and permissions. Public and Private Licence keys. Encryption. Message Signatures. – Fraud (some people want their electricity and gas for free !)
- 11. 11 19 February 2009 OSI 7-layer Communications Model … Need to agree on Physical and Link layers now. For full inter-operability we will also need to agree on Application layer, including data objects and information representations : – Units – Time … Some organisations are already trying to define such higher levels (protocols and data objects) : – DLMS – M-Bus – Zigbee Smart Energy profile Beware of ‘Manufacturer-Specific’ object codes!
- 12. 12 19 February 2009 Separate SRSM committees for WAN and LAN … LAN or HAN (Local or Home Area Network) – Inside Home (for Meters and Home Automation) – Can address White and Green boxes – Not political, but who owns the HAN ? – Needs to be wireless (E and G meters stay in their nasty locations) WAN (Wide Area Network) – From Home to Head End Computer (HEC), possibly via Data Concentrator – Could be wired (PLC, POTS, ADSL) or wireless (GSM, WiMAX, …) – Political. Who owns and runs the WAN infrastructure ? – Cost/wisdom of producing a third national communications network ? I am a member of the SRSM LAN committee (but not WAN), so will concentrate on LAN issues. www.energy-retail.org.uk/smartmeters
- 13. 13 19 February 2009 6 SRSM LAN/HAN Options Licenced Band – 184 MHz Unlicensed bands – 868 MHz – 2.4 GHz 6 standards still being considered : – Wireless M-Bus at 868 MHz – Wavenis at 868 MHz – Z-Wave at 868 MHz – ZigBee at 868 MHz – ZigBee at 2.4 GHz – Bluetooth Low Energy at 2.4 GHz WiFi not selected as power-consumption is too high
- 14. 14 19 February 2009 Comms Architecture 1 Electricity Meter Gas Meter Display M Home Appliance Appliance Appliances Gateway M H H H Green boxes are owned by the home occupier. White boxes are not owned by the home occupier. White boxes are normally owned by utility companies. M = Meter comms = LAN (Local Area Network) H = Home Automation comms = LAN (Local Area Network) S = Street level comms (if data concentrator used) W = WAN (Wide Area Network) MH = single comms for M and H MS = single comms for M and S MHS = single comms for M and H and S S Head End Computer Energy Supplier W PC or TV H M Data Concentrator Street S W
- 15. 15 19 February 2009 Comms Architecture 2 Electricity Meter Gas Meter Display MH Home Appliance Appliance Appliances Gateway MH MH MH MH Green boxes are owned by the home occupier. White boxes are not owned by the home occupier. White boxes are normally owned by utility companies. M = Meter comms = LAN (Local Area Network) H = Home Automation comms = LAN (Local Area Network) S = Street level comms (if data concentrator used) W = WAN (Wide Area Network) MH = single comms for M and H MS = single comms for M and S MHS = single comms for M and H and S S Head End Computer Energy Supplier W PC or TV MH Data Concentrator Street S W Merge M and H networks
- 16. 16 19 February 2009 Comms Architecture 3 Electricity Meter Gas Meter Display MH Home Appliance Appliance Appliances MH MH MH Green boxes are owned by the home occupier. White boxes are not owned by the home occupier. White boxes are normally owned by utility companies. M = Meter comms = LAN (Local Area Network) H = Home Automation comms = LAN (Local Area Network) S = Street level comms (if data concentrator used) W = WAN (Wide Area Network) MH = single comms for M and H MS = single comms for M and S MHS = single comms for M and H and S S Head End Computer Energy Supplier W PC or TV MH Data Concentrator Street S W Remove Gateway Neighbouring houses may use different energy suppliers and meter manufacturers. S network must be open. Issues for PLC.
- 17. 17 19 February 2009 Comms Architecture 4 Electricity Meter Gas Meter Display MS Home Appliance Appliance Appliances H H H Green boxes are owned by the home occupier. White boxes are not owned by the home occupier. White boxes are normally owned by utility companies. M = Meter comms = LAN (Local Area Network) H = Home Automation comms = LAN (Local Area Network) S = Street level comms (if data concentrator used) W = WAN (Wide Area Network) MH = single comms for M and H MS = single comms for M and S MHS = single comms for M and H and S MS Head End Computer Energy Supplier W PC or TV H Data Concentrator Street MS W Merge M and S networks
- 18. 18 19 February 2009 Comms Architecture 5 Electricity Meter Gas Meter Display MHS Home Appliance Appliance Appliances MHS MHS MHS Green boxes are owned by the home occupier. White boxes are not owned by the home occupier. White boxes are normally owned by utility companies. M = Meter comms = LAN (Local Area Network) H = Home Automation comms = LAN (Local Area Network) S = Street level comms (if data concentrator used) W = WAN (Wide Area Network) MH = single comms for M and H MS = single comms for M and S MHS = single comms for M and H and S Head End Computer Energy Supplier W PC or TV MHS Data Concentrator Street MHS W Merge M, H and S networks
- 19. 19 19 February 2009 Comms Architecture 6 Electricity Meter Gas Meter Display M Home Appliance Appliance Appliances Gateway M H H H Green boxes are owned by the home occupier. White boxes are not owned by the home occupier. White boxes are normally owned by utility companies. M = Meter comms = LAN (Local Area Network) H = Home Automation comms = LAN (Local Area Network) S = Street level comms (if data concentrator used) W = WAN (Wide Area Network) MH = single comms for M and H MS = single comms for M and S MHS = single comms for M and H and S W Head End Computer Energy Supplier W PC or TV H M Remove Street Data Concentrator
- 20. 20 19 February 2009 Comms Architecture 7 Merge M and H networks
- 21. 21 19 February 2009 Comms Architecture 8 Electricity Meter Gas Meter Display MH Home Appliance Appliance Appliances MH MH MH Green boxes are owned by the home occupier. White boxes are not owned by the home occupier. White boxes are normally owned by utility companies. M = Meter comms = LAN (Local Area Network) H = Home Automation comms = LAN (Local Area Network) S = Street level comms (if data concentrator used) W = WAN (Wide Area Network) MH = single comms for M and H MS = single comms for M and S MHS = single comms for M and H and S W Head End Computer Energy Supplier W PC or TV MH Remove Gateway
- 22. 22 19 February 2009 Comms Architecture 9 Electricity Meter Gas Meter Display M Home Appliance Appliance Appliances Gateway M H H H Green boxes are owned by the home occupier. White boxes are not owned by the home occupier. White boxes are normally owned by utility companies. M = Meter comms = LAN (Local Area Network) H = Home Automation comms = LAN (Local Area Network) S = Street level comms (if data concentrator used) W = WAN (Wide Area Network) MH = single comms for M and H MS = single comms for M and S MHS = single comms for M and H and S W Head End Computer Energy Supplier W PC or TV H M Display = M-H star point H could be WiFi, W could be ADSL (power supply questions ?)
- 23. 23 19 February 2009 Network ownership and channel allocation in MHS solution … PC Washing Machine Energy Display Electricity Meter TV House HAN 1 = Channel 5 ? Meters in Flats Channel 1 Last Mile LAN Uses Same LAN technology as HANs e.g GSM Street Data Concentrator Up to 1000 houses ? LAN Gateway National Comm’s National Comm’s e.g GSM Energy Supplier’s Head End processor Meters in Basement Washing Machine Electricity Meter Gas Meter Energy Display HAN 3 = Channel 2 ? HAN 4 = Channel 12 ? Washing Machine Energy Display Electricity Meter Gas Meter HAN 5 = Channel 7 ? Washing Machine Energy Display Electricity Meter Gas Meter Gas Meter Washing Machine Electricity Meter Gas Meter TV HAN 2 = Channel 11 ? Who owns and is responsible for : – MH network ? – S network ? How do White boxes behave at the interface ? Where are the Coordinator nodes : – for Network ? – for Security ? What channels can be used ?
- 24. 24 19 February 2009 Physical layout of smart meters in a Victorian terraced house … Electricity Gas Service Side Internet WAN Display LAN Washing Machine LAN Freezer LAN PC Switched, Metered, Domestic Gas Supply Switched, Metered, Domestic Electricity Supply E meter UI Opto LAN G m eter UI Opto LAN WAN GatewayOpto LAN Un-switched, Un-metered, Limited (series capacitor ?), Fused, Electricity Supply Fuse Box Main Fuse LAN Under-stairs Cupboard W meter Opto UI LAN Front Door TV LAN Meters are still in the same locations : – Unfriendly for User access – Need wireless links to devices in Home Flat peer to peer LAN – More flexible than a Master-Slave hierarchical system : – New devices – New commercial model Pool of energy information enables more intelligent energy decisions : – Manually (User reads Display) – Automatically (Appliance chooses a cheap/low carbon time to run) Supports separate Gas and Electricity Suppliers – Gas suppliers do not like communications via E-meter
- 25. 25 19 February 2009 Conclusions UK should select a LAN technology that : – One ubiquitous LAN standard. Used in all G and E meters, with long backward compatibility (45 years for 3 meter installations) – Is chosen primarily for the G-meter (if it works for G-meter, it will easily work for E-meter). – Is intended for Home-automation as well as Metering (at physical layer) – Supports repeaters (for mesh or tree networks). This is necessary for big houses and for blocks of flats – Enables each node to support 2 networks simultaneously (such that one cannot corrupt the other). HAN should be owned/run by the Home occupier (for M and H purposes) UK should accept that it may not be possible to have one ubiquitous WAN standard : – Maybe one WAN standard could do 80% of installations – WAN links are likely to change during the 45 year operating life – Preferably keep the WAN out of the E and G meters (they should contain LAN only) – New LAN-WAN Gateways (translators) should be developed when new WAN technologies are wanted. Change of WAN technology should not force a change of meters – Choose the commercial model for the WAN (WAN technology selection depends on it) UK E-meters should contain a fused/limited/unswitched auxiliary power supply : – Needed for some LAN-WAN Gateways
- 26. 26 19 February 2009 Contact details: Cambridge Consultants Ltd Cambridge Consultants Inc Science Park, Milton Road 101 Main Street Cambridge, CB4 0DW Cambridge MA 02142 England USA Tel: +44(0)1223 420024 Tel: +1 617 532 4700 Fax: +44(0)1223 423373 Fax: +1 617 737 9889 Registered No. 1036298 England Alistair.Morfey@CambridgeConsultants.com www.CambridgeConsultants.com Commercially Confidential This Presentation contains ideas and information which are proprietary to Cambridge Consultants Limited and/or Cambridge Consultants Inc: it is given to you in confidence. You are authorised to open and view any electronic copy we send you of this document within your organisation and to print a single copy. Otherwise the material may not in whole or in part be copied, stored electronically or communicated to third parties without the prior written agreement of Cambridge Consultants Limited and/or Cambridge Consultants Inc. © 2009 Cambridge Consultants Ltd, Cambridge Consultants Inc. All rights reserved.