Smart grid communications networks:
are we looking at them in the right way?
Joined up thinking by reverse engineering the big picture could create a truly holistic smart network that works for everyone.
When it comes to designing smart grid communications networks the options are boundless. Utilities could opt for a fairly basic network that only does meter reading or diagnostics.They could invest in more sophisticated systems which also integrate applications like commercial area networking capabilities, speech automation, SCADA functions, distribution automation, substation automation, equipment delivery tracking, and more besides.
Others could also integrate public services offerings, such as internet and Wi-Fi capability.
Indeed, as CE Power Solutions’ Nelson Abreu points out: “there is really no one-size-fits-all solution”.
However, companies and municipalities should, he says, adopt a “holistic approach that tries to maximise network investments to bring the most value to communities” while taking into consideration security, liability, and general business strategy concerns.
Benefits abound
From a purely business perspective, there are operating efficiencies, cost savings and revenue recovery to be gained. There are social and environmental benefits to be had too, if the right approach is adopted.
“You’re bringing new value or enhancing the customer experience. And if it’s a municipal utility you’re improving the life, the liveability of your citizens by providing not just more utility services – electric related services – but also new communications services,” says the engineer who heads up CE Power Solutions Advanced Metering Infrastructure and Smart Grid services team.
Effective smart grids should, Abreu continues, enable utilities to provide more and more power with today’s ageing infrastructure “in a way that manages cost, improves the reliability of that system, and accommodates a greater renewable portfolio.”
In addition, they should also provide for “digital inclusion and digital government for societies that have segments of the population that are currently cut off from all of this…to bring information about their costs close to their hands so they are empowered to make better energy decisions, so they can save power and they can participate.”
And with better energy management, increased energy efficiency, and greater integration of renewable energy in grid networks, energy losses through distribution networks and emissions can also be cut significantly.
Abreu points out that just being able to give a customer hourly data/information about their energy consumption and enabling them to estimate their bills based on their current pattern of consumption produces a conservation effect of at least 4%. “That’s just by giving information,” he says. “If we really take all of this seriously we can achieve a significant saving while being able at the same time to feed more and more demand, but it will take a smarter approach no question.”
Designing your network
While many will adopt a phased-step approach to network design – taking an initial idea or business imperative and implementing solutions and expand the network system later when new goals are set or new technologies enter the market, Abreu suggests that this is inefficient and can be costly.
Instead, the key to successful smart grid investment is to adopt a reverse engineering mentality. You have to “begin with the end in mind” and “decide what the features you’re looking for are,” he says. Then work backwards from there.
“Is it only utility applications or do you want to provide a whole load of other services, like voice over IT or Wi-Fi, so you have this infrastructure that other companies can use to provide services? Depending on what you’re trying accomplish you are looking at different challenges.”
By working backwards from your desired outcome, you can identify potential opportunities you may not have considered or problems that you can provide solutions to before going live. The alterative being suddenly encountering major problems once the system is operating and being dumped with the additional costs.
And you can build in flexibility and security by design from the start for later solutions to meet future needs while also planning for the unexpected.Abreu insists: “It is possible to have a good return on investment without taking shortcuts.” At present, he says, there is “a lot of disconnect between a planned benefit and then the actual feasibility of it with the current system.” One example is outage management systems, which have “great benefits” like being able to determine outage sources quicker and, with controls, restore power to more people sooner.“Sounds brilliant, but sometimes that is not really tested out in the field under normal field conditions,” he says.Moreover, even if a network does work well in normal conditions, “does it work well under the worst conditions? That’s a completely different question.”
Processing
Another big piece of the puzzle, other than the technology, is the processing.
“You are used to running [your operations] a certain way and now you have a deluge of data and new features,” Abreu says, so companies have to plan for handling the increased volume of data, know how to use it and manage its flow between different departments.“The equipment has to move a certain way, the data has to flow a certain way, and then you want to use that actionable data for some useful purpose,” he stresses.It “could tell you something about impending failure, how well the communications network is performing in a certain area, whether somebody is stealing power.”
While no system will ever be flawless, his advice is always to plan for the unexpected when designing a network, particularly if planning to do so in a phased approach. “Perhaps you have a perfectly well functioning meter and network communications card and access points, but when your try to integrate all of this sometimes they do not inter-operate the way you would expect or in the field there’s some condition that you hadn’t foreseen.”Fluctuating and extreme temperatures, humidity, surges, harmonics, outages and more should all be factored in with a view to how the system, as a whole, may react.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your participation is most welcome!