Smart Grid: Focus Areas

Smart Grid

The current electric grid was conceived more than 100 years ago when electricity needs were simple. Power generation was localized and built around communities. Most homes had only small energy demands such as few light-bulbs and a radio. The grid was designed for utilities to deliver electricity to consumer's home and then bill them once a month which is a one-way communication which is illustrated in figure 1; Before smart Grid.

Figure 1: Pre and Post Smart Grid communication

This limited one-way interaction makes it difficult for the grid to respond to the ever changing and rising energy demands of the 21st century. The smart grid introduces the two-way dialogue where electricity and information can be exchanged between utility and its customers shown in figure 1; After smart grid . Its a developing network of communications, controls, computers and automation, and new technology and tools working together to make the grid more efficient, more reliable, more secure, and more greener. The smart grid enables newer technologies to be integrated such as wind and solar energy production and plug-in vehicle charging. With our participation as informed consumers, the smart grid will replace the old infrastructure of today's grid. And utilities can better communicate with us to help manage our electricity needs.

Grid Situational awareness

Situational awareness in the context of power grid operation is the understanding the current environment and being able to accurately anticipate future problems to enable effective actions. To be able to achieve this sensors will be used. Smart Grid technologies offer a new solution to the problem of monitoring and controlling the grid's transmission system.

Control and situational awareness are two very important aspects within critical control systems, since potential faults or anomalous behaviours could lead to serious consequences by hiding the real status of supervised critical infrastructures. Examples of these infrastructures are energy generation, transmission or distribution systems that belong to Smart Grid systems.

Given the importance of these systems for social welfare and its economy, [1] proposed a situational awareness-based model, composed of a set of current technologies. The model focuses on addressing and offering a set of minimum services for protection, such as prevention, detection, response, self-evaluation and maintenance, thereby providing a desirable protection in unplanned situations. The Grid situational awareness system enable the monitoring of overall bulk power systems and provide critical information for understanding and responding to power system disturbances, power transmission and cascading blackouts as well as insight into operations utilities.

Home Energy management

Home energy management systems enable home-owners to monitor and reduce energy consumption of smart home electronics, conserve resources, and save money. The Smart Home communicates with the grid and enables the consumers to manage their electricity usage. By measuring home electricity consumption frequently through a smart meter, utilities can provide their customers with much more better information to manage their electricity bills. Inside the smart home, a Home Area Network (HAN) connects smart appliances , thermostats and other electric devices to an energy management system. Smart appliances and devices will adjust their run schedule to reduce electricity demand on the grid at critical times and lower consumers energy bill.
These smart devices can be controlled and schedules oner the web or a TV.

Renewable integration

Renewable resources such as wind and solar are sustainable and growing source of electric power. However, renewable power sources are variable by nature and add complexity to normal operations. The smart grid provides the data and automation needed to enable solar panels and wind farms to put energy onto the grid and optimise its use.

The charging of a plug-in electric vehicle can be managed over a Home Area Network (HAN). The HAN can balance the demand of electricity across the house the household and prioritise between electric vehicle and other appliances to manage electricity usage and reduce costs. With smart grid technologies and consumer participation, utilities can more easily handle the increase demand power to run the electric vehicle and ensure charging needs are met. By adding more plug-in electric vehicle to the grid, we have the potential to reduce fuel costs, lower our dependency on foreign oil, and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

ICT & Advanced Sensors

Communication is a very important aspect of the smart grid. Consumers, and their energy-consuming devices, needs to communicate directly to the smart grid. This communication can be done with smart thermostats, smart appliances, and in-home displays which show real-time energy data. The last mile may be the most important part of the smart grid. It’s what enables real-time management of energy generation, distribution, usage, and efficiency. This last mile comprises the devices, systems, and processes where utilities and consumers come together. This is where the balance between supply and demand gets optimized across the power grid.

References

Qi, Hairong, et al. "Increasing the resolution of wide-area situational awareness of the power grid through event unmixing."System Sciences (HICSS), 2011 44th Hawaii International Conference on. IEEE, 2011
https://www.smartgrid.gov/the_smart_grid