Data and Demand Responses for SmartGrid Management

A system integrator has been retained to develop a smart-grid energy management system that monitors and controls energy at the point-of-use and has two-way communication with the utility company. The system should be scalable so that a low cost starter package could be offered as well as enhancements such as state of the art interface devices for more sophisticated users.

The system integrator was able to find several systems that connected the electrical meter to the utility and the problem to solve was how to create a cost effective system beyond the meter. Akida was the only provider of products that monitored energy at the point of use, provided the ability to switch the load off or reduce it via a “dimmer” switch and most importantly they could be integrated into a system. The design team was pleased to see a variety of products that offered flexibility in a system to manage electrical consumption over a whole circuit (e-LOK or ECU), or at an outlet (e-PLUG) or even using existing switches that could be operated using a low voltage relay (ECU-LV). Akida was already using Zigbee communication modules, which was the communication platform of many of the digital meters used by utility companies. The system integrator had decided to host all software for the system on Linux and was pleased to see that Akida’s e-LOK had a Linux CPU built into the panel. The team decided that they would develop software that would replace Akida’s e-LOK control software. The system integrator’s software gathered and stored energy data from all points in the system and communicated with the utility company via any communication device connected to the e-LOK panel’s Ethernet port. Since the data packets from Akida’s devices use a standardized protocol and are in ASCII format, no further software coding was needed to interpret the readings and the data files could be input directly into the utility company’s systems. The integrator modified the e-LOK to serve as the system control and hub and they configured system options that included e-PLUGs and ECUs for more in depth monitoring. They were also able to offer software upgrades that allowed access to the data via smart phones and touch screen panels using wireless connectivity.

The system integrator was able to meet their client’s goal of delivering a low cost system that allowed access to electrical loads inside a customer’s home and building. The project had anticipated costs to develop the software to interface with the utility company’s systems but they wanted to avoid development of custom devices. Using Akida’s products the system was completed in a couple of months

Akida’s monitoring and control products use a standardized communication protocol and are independent of the communication platform (eg Zigbee) so they can be easily “plugged” together to form a system of any configuration.