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Automatic power metering - existing products and new functions

N

Noen

Jan 1, 1970
0
My problem relates to automatic power metering (by electric power
supplier to private homes) using existing off-the-shelf products. I am
currently looking at enhancing existing automatic metering systems
(e.g. with "residental gateway" solutions supplied by Echelon or
Ericsson) with added functionality and better data security. The
problem is interfacing the new equipment with existing equipment,
because the existing equipment are of different makes and models, and
the installation is done by technicians with very limited engineering
skills.

Further, considering addtional future needs (which have not been
thought of yet), the way to go seems to be the design of an interface
module that can handle all existing equipment and any new equipment to
make the design of new equipment independent of varying existing
equipment (only the interface protocol needs to be considered).

Further yet, in the case that another company (in the future) has
developed new equipment that is useful for us, we would be inhibited if
we cannot get the interface module to run with this new third party
equipment, so we would rather need a flexible interface. In order to
avoid inventing the wheel all over again, my question is:

Does a flexible interface system already exist (for this purpose)?? Can
anyone point me in the direction of companies/products?
 
P

Paul Hovnanian P.E.

Jan 1, 1970
0
Noen said:
My problem relates to automatic power metering (by electric power
supplier to private homes) using existing off-the-shelf products. I am
currently looking at enhancing existing automatic metering systems
(e.g. with "residental gateway" solutions supplied by Echelon or
Ericsson) with added functionality and better data security. The
problem is interfacing the new equipment with existing equipment,
because the existing equipment are of different makes and models, and
the installation is done by technicians with very limited engineering
skills.

Generally, when power companies make a change to remote metering, they
send the techs out with new meters, already fitted with the necessary
equipment. The electromechanical meter movements are so cheap (when
purchased in quantities) that it doesn't pay to have a tech fit new
equipment to them in the field. They just get scrapped.

Meters generally aren't that easy to open up and modify. Due to
tampering concerns, the interface hardware is contained entirely within
the meter's sealed glass envelope.
Further, considering addtional future needs (which have not been
thought of yet), the way to go seems to be the design of an interface
module that can handle all existing equipment and any new equipment to
make the design of new equipment independent of varying existing
equipment (only the interface protocol needs to be considered).

Probably not worth it. The cost to make meters upgradable in the field
is prohibitive. There would also be tampering issues. Imagine someone
coming up with an uploadable hack to cut recorded power consumption.

Of course, these economics don't hold true for large commercial or
industrial customers, where revenue can be substantial. In these cases,
metering systems are custom designed (by the utility), assembled from
components (which can be upgraded and/or replaced) and are subject to
periodic testing and maintenance.
 
M

Mike Monett

Jan 1, 1970
0
Noen said:
My problem relates to automatic power metering (by electric power
supplier to private homes) using existing off-the-shelf products. I am
currently looking at enhancing existing automatic metering systems
(e.g. with "residental gateway" solutions supplied by Echelon or
Ericsson) with added functionality and better data security. The
problem is interfacing the new equipment with existing equipment,
because the existing equipment are of different makes and models, and
the installation is done by technicians with very limited engineering
skills.

Further, considering addtional future needs (which have not been
thought of yet), the way to go seems to be the design of an interface
module that can handle all existing equipment and any new equipment to
make the design of new equipment independent of varying existing
equipment (only the interface protocol needs to be considered).

If you are considering designing your own interface, here's some ideas
base on a simple laser pointer shining on a conventional watthour meter
disk:

Watt Watcher
http://www.cedarnet.org/smartware/Hardware/WattWatcher/

Electric meter reader
http://www.seanadams.com/pge/

UK Electricity usage monitor
http://offog.org/code/electricity.html

Here's another concept that will keep over-unity optimists happy:

"The Energy Conservation Circuit is a patented circuit that
provides economic savings when applied to existing electrical
circuitry supplied by alternating current. The device allows the
magnetic field to be altered in such a way which significantly
reduces the power consumption necessary to operate a given load,
whereby the more the load the greater the savings."

"Savings up to 22% have been measured at peak operating times."

http://www.affs.org/html/the_energy_trimmer.html

Mike Monett
 
N

Noen

Jan 1, 1970
0
This would be added to each home. Today the meter readings are
collected manually. The new equipment I'm talking about is not just for
the sole purpose of invoicing power consumption, but also adding
functionality such as remote control, burglar alarms, telephony, high
speed internet etc. Imagine inside a private home there's a burglar
alarm already installed by another company (with known function). The
power company has the communications infrastructure that makes it
possible to interact with the burglar alarm from a remote location, if
only there was an easy way of connecting the two together. This is just
one example, and not a particularly good one, but I think you can
appreciate why I don't want to reveal too much of my plans to the
public. The thing I am interested in is the interface, and if there
already is something out there that I can use, it would save a lot of
development costs - and time.
 
B

Ban

Jan 1, 1970
0
Noen said:
This would be added to each home. Today the meter readings are
collected manually. The new equipment I'm talking about is not just
for the sole purpose of invoicing power consumption, but also adding
functionality such as remote control, burglar alarms, telephony, high
speed internet etc. Imagine inside a private home there's a burglar
alarm already installed by another company (with known function). The
power company has the communications infrastructure that makes it
possible to interact with the burglar alarm from a remote location, if
only there was an easy way of connecting the two together. This is
just one example, and not a particularly good one, but I think you can
appreciate why I don't want to reveal too much of my plans to the
public. The thing I am interested in is the interface, and if there
already is something out there that I can use, it would save a lot of
development costs - and time.

My KWh meter here in Italy was changed to an electronic version last year
and is read out via the mains supply line, where are you living?
 
W

Winfield Hill

Jan 1, 1970
0
Ban wrote...
My KWh meter here in Italy was changed to an electronic version last
year and is read out via the mains supply line, where are you living?

I miss the old ones. The new ones have an easy-to-read kWhr scale,
but they lack the old rotating disk, which allowed you to determine
the instantaneous current, the kW-hr consumption rate.
 
J

John Larkin

Jan 1, 1970
0
Ban wrote...

I miss the old ones. The new ones have an easy-to-read kWhr scale,
but they lack the old rotating disk, which allowed you to determine
the instantaneous current, the kW-hr consumption rate.


My neighbor has a new demand-reading meter. It's not online, but it
does have the opticom readout port. It has a rotating disk and a bunch
of electronics.

John
 
T

Tony Williams

Jan 1, 1970
0
Winfield Hill said:
I miss the old ones. The new ones have an easy-to-read kWhr
scale, but they lack the old rotating disk, which allowed you to
determine the instantaneous current, the kW-hr consumption rate.

We've just had our meter changed by the electricity co.
Rotating disk types in both cases. The 'new' one was
older than the old one. The man said that they were so
reliable that our meter would go back for calibration
and then be cycled back into service with someone else.
 
J

John Larkin

Jan 1, 1970
0
We've just had our meter changed by the electricity co.
Rotating disk types in both cases. The 'new' one was
older than the old one. The man said that they were so
reliable that our meter would go back for calibration
and then be cycled back into service with someone else.


Disk meters are astonishing. It's difficult to design an electronic
meter that will match their performance, and even more difficult to
match their cost.

John
 
T

Tony Williams

Jan 1, 1970
0
John Larkin said:
Disk meters are astonishing. It's difficult to design an
electronic meter that will match their performance, and even more
difficult to match their cost.

There's a similar problem with electronic thermometers
versus mercury_in_glass for specialised applications.
ie, body temperature, photographic processing, etc.
 
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