Smart Grid Network

Today's utility is faced with ever increasing demands. Demands like reliability, conservation, economical, security, and the list goes on. They have been charged with keeping the lights on and world going. Because of this they are very conservative by nature and rely on proven solutions. Since Alternating Current voltage was accepted as the voltage of choice decades ago for power systems, not a whole lot has changed. To meet the demands and become sustainable uutilities are implementing new technological (or smart) devices and systems that create an environment of sustainability.

 Wikipedia says, "A smart grid is a form of electricity network using digital technology. A smart grid delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using two-way digital communications to control appliances at consumers' homes; this could save energy, reduce costs and increase reliability and transparency if the risks inherent in executing massive information technology projects are avoided. The "Smart Grid" is envisioned to overlay the ordinary electrical grid with an information and net metering system, that includes smart meters. Smart grids are being promoted by many governments as a way of addressing energy independence, global warming and emergency resilience issues."

Smart Grid is the buzz word today. As the slide above demonstrates there are many facits to how a smart grid works but basically it can be broken down into three components; Hardware, Software, and the Network. All of these components make up an endless list of benefits that will ultimately reduce power costs and allow utilities to become sustainable.

The goal of this blog is to discuss how the network component of smart grid solutions. Although you need all of the parts to make up a smart grid, the network is the lifeblood of any solution.

These Smart Grid solutions are comprised of several layers of communications, or networks. The ultimate goal of these systems to install "smart" meters that gather and deliver useful data. Along with these smart meters a network infrastructure must be constructed to allow utilities to remotely access the meter's capabilities. The following is sort of busy but showes the different layers of the network that allow this. The infrastructure is made up of the receiving server, the WAN, the LAN and the HAN.

The Home Area Network or HAN is the network that resides within each individual home on the system. Manufacturers are already making smart thermostats and appliances with blue tooth and zigby radios to work in conjuntion with smart grids. Pioneers envision being able to control smart home appliances through online dash boards and smart phone apps. Access to this level of information would allow users and providers the ability to lower total consumption with the push of a button. 

These smart meters reside in the Local Area Network or LAN of the smart grid system. The industry is beginning to coin this section of the network as Neighborhood Area Network or NAN. Each meter has a radio installed that communicate with one another. These radio's can work on several frequencies like 900mhz. These communication are usually self-healing in the fact that if communications are blocked they are programmed with the capability of finding another path to communicate. The following diagram depicts just this style of systems. However, there are also systems that use the existing power line as the carrier for the system.

The Wide Area Network or WAN is commonly referred to as the back haul for the system. This is usually a high frequency with a robust pipeline. WAN communication can us radio frequencies like 2.4ghzs, data or Ethernet cables, or Fiber optics. The WAN function in the network chain is to connect a large section of the LAN to the server that resides at the utility office. The WAN can also be used to control other devices on the line that require more bandwidth to give the utility the ability to run the system most efficiently and reliably.

And that is how Smart Grid Networks work. There are many options to utilities today but the basic principles of the communication remain the same for each option. Below is a summary diagram that shows how the different components work together to make up the Smart Grid.

References

Diagrams and information was provided by Sean Dempsey, Smart Grid Specialists.

Wikipedia link for the definition is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_grid.