Smart Grid Technologies: Communication Technologies and Standards
Smart Grid History
As soon as electrical distribution grids came into being the need for metering arose. The initial devices were used for metering consumption, however modern smart grid technology uses two way metering and can switch appliances on or off according to demand and off peak tariffs. Over the last one hundred years many obstacles to smart grid technology have been overcome.
The earliest attempt at smart grid was Edison’s 1882 pearl street system that using an electromagnet opened and closed circuits to indicate by different colored bulbs high and low voltage. These different bulbs alerted the operator to control output of the generators to match the load. Consumption …show more content…
This has resulted in increased incidences of blackout due to equipment failures, limitations in generation capacity, energy storage problems and decline in fossil fuels. Another challenge has been substantial repercussions from climate change policy on the electrical power markets. This challenge has resulted in the need for addition of intermittent energy sources such as wind and power. Integration of renewable energy sources (RES) is hampered by the fact that most distribution networks have a very low degree of monitoring and automation. These challenges led to an urgent need to come up with a power grid that rises up to these challenges. A class of technologies that have been used in industries for decades using two way digital communications are now being incorporated in power grids in order to transform the energy generation, transmission, distribution and marketing by incorporating functionalities to overcome challenges. These technologies enable computer based monitoring, remote control and automation of electricity networks from generating plants and wind farms right up to homes and businesses. Implementation of these technologies and use of intelligent devices in electrical grids is what turns a grid into what is referred to as Smart Grid. Smart Grid is the …show more content…
The European Commission (2012) defines Smart Grid as “an upgraded energy network to which two-way digital communication between the supplier and consumer, Smart metering and monitoring and control system have been added. The benefits of smart grid are (NIST)
1. Improved power reliability and quality through better monitoring and load balancing using network sensors and
Smart Grid History
As soon as electrical distribution grids came into being the need for metering arose. The initial devices were used for metering consumption, however modern smart grid technology uses two way metering and can switch appliances on or off according to demand and off peak tariffs. Over the last one hundred years many obstacles to smart grid technology have been overcome.
The earliest attempt at smart grid was Edison’s 1882 pearl street system that using an electromagnet opened and closed circuits to indicate by different colored bulbs high and low voltage. These different bulbs alerted the operator to control output of the generators to match the load. Consumption …show more content…
This has resulted in increased incidences of blackout due to equipment failures, limitations in generation capacity, energy storage problems and decline in fossil fuels. Another challenge has been substantial repercussions from climate change policy on the electrical power markets. This challenge has resulted in the need for addition of intermittent energy sources such as wind and power. Integration of renewable energy sources (RES) is hampered by the fact that most distribution networks have a very low degree of monitoring and automation. These challenges led to an urgent need to come up with a power grid that rises up to these challenges. A class of technologies that have been used in industries for decades using two way digital communications are now being incorporated in power grids in order to transform the energy generation, transmission, distribution and marketing by incorporating functionalities to overcome challenges. These technologies enable computer based monitoring, remote control and automation of electricity networks from generating plants and wind farms right up to homes and businesses. Implementation of these technologies and use of intelligent devices in electrical grids is what turns a grid into what is referred to as Smart Grid. Smart Grid is the …show more content…
The European Commission (2012) defines Smart Grid as “an upgraded energy network to which two-way digital communication between the supplier and consumer, Smart metering and monitoring and control system have been added. The benefits of smart grid are (NIST)
1. Improved power reliability and quality through better monitoring and load balancing using network sensors and