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Smart meters are used for measuring and communicating information related to real-time energy consumption. Would smart meter sense the load and take action accordingly? How does it tackle the surplus home-generated renewable energy when there is no demand?
A smart meter is a two-way internet-enabled device, which can collect the meter readings remotely. It is an essential upgrade to the energy infrastructure which supports the transition of the smart energy system and keeps users informed about their individual energy usage.
There is a bidirectional power flow analysis chip integrated into smart meter which works as a potential differentiator for the meter to read the incoming and outgoing energy.
In case of a higher load, a smart meter can sense the required power of the load and try to fulfil it by using the home-generated electricity, and if the power from the home power generation source is not sufficient then it taps energy from the grid. If the loads sensed by smart energy meter is less than that of the home power generation source, it cut-off the grid supply and rely only on home power generation source.
Furthermore, it also calculates the amount of energy generated from home power source, and if the power generated is more than the required loads, it starting to feed the excess power to the grid.
Smart meters work efficiently only if the surrounding system works perfectly but in case of failure/faults in the system, the working of the smart system will be disturbed. Therefore, a smart protection system needs to be installed in the surrounding of the smart meter which has to be incorporated with the parameter of the smart meter.
Additionally, for the readings of the smart meter to be stored 24/7, a compatible storage device is required either directly connected with the smart meter or connected remotely. In case of a remote storage device, a communication network system commonly wifi is required. Additionally, a power backup system for the storage unit is also required in case of the power failure from the grid or from the home power generation source.
As the smart meter is built for the measurement of bidirectional power flow therefore, a bidirectional inverter is also required to be installed in parallel with the smart meter. The selection of bidirectional inverter should be in such a way that it should not only able to mitigate the problems associated with the two-way power flow but also give a path for uninterrupted power supply in both ways.