Smart grid technology will strengthen our electric power system’s resilience to storms, natural disasters and terrorist attacks by quickly detecting small imbalances before they spiral out of control and cause massive disruptions. It will detect small imbalances sooner and reroute power as necessary before any become serious disruptions to service.
Timing synchronization is critical in providing real-time data communications support with minimal latency across multiple layers of a network, and also relies on smart grid technologies that promote energy efficiency, resilience and customer satisfaction.
Smart Meters
Smart meters are one of the key components of a smart grid, serving to monitor electricity use almost in real-time and breaking it down into half hourly chunks for customers to access detailed information about their energy consumption and reduce bills. Customers benefit from having access to such detailed data about their energy use so that they can optimize consumption and lower bills more effectively.
Consumers can also take advantage of smart meters to sign up for time-based tariffs from suppliers, which allow them to shift their energy usage towards off-peak periods when production costs are lower (thereby lowering carbon footprint). Smart meters also enable sharing renewable generation such as rooftop solar panels among multiple consumers as well as sharing them with utility.
Data is essential in detecting and controlling faults, helping suppliers locate and isolate issues quickly. However, for this to work successfully requires interoperability and standardization for devices to communicate efficiently.
PMUs
A smart grid is an electricity supply system designed to be more resilient, efficient, greener, and cost-cutting. It helps prevent power outages while giving consumers more information on their energy rates – ultimately saving money by decreasing consumption.
PMUs are sensors designed to precisely measure the voltage magnitude and phase angle of powerline signals to provide accurate grid measurements that can be used in applications like monitoring, protection and State estimation. Measurements made with PMUs are timestamped using an external reference source – usually GPS receiver – allowing multiple PMUs to acquire synchrophasors at high speeds for comprehensive grid monitoring, control, and optimization.
An essential aspect of smart grid technology is being able to quickly identify problems and isolate them before they lead to widespread outages, using fault location, isolation and service restoration (FLISR) technology. NI, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and OSIsoft have collaborated to design an FLISR synchrophasor that meets these criteria: it is end-to-end reliable, validated scalable remotely manageable through open software platforms – these qualities make the synchrophasor perfect for meeting these requirements.
Protective Relays
Power grids rely on sensors that monitor voltage, current, and frequency measurements; communication systems to allow two-way interaction with devices; and control systems enabling devices to be reconfigured remotely. Smart grids utilize advanced analytics and automation technologies which make the system more reactive to changes in energy usage patterns.
This allows the system to automatically reroute electricity flows, contain faults and minimize their effects, and prevent large-scale outages. Furthermore, it stores excess energy during periods of peak generation before redirecting it when production levels decrease – saving businesses and households money on electricity expenses.
Smarter power grids enable neighborhood-level renewable energy sources to feed into the main, non-neighborhood power supply without relying on central facilities for production – this makes the entire energy system more sustainable, flexible and efficient as it helps balance out production with consumption across time periods – something traditional power systems often struggle with.
Smart Controls
Intel is taking an innovative, comprehensive approach to create its vision of a smart grid, working closely with customers and partners to implement all necessary technology.
Integrating traditional power technology with cutting-edge analytics and automation techniques enables smart grids to rapidly respond to consumer demand as well as potential electrical network incidents, optimize energy flow, anticipate maintenance needs, and increase reliability.
The smart grid enables net-positive homes and businesses to contribute electricity when rates are lower, which reduces costs for all. It tracks real time how much energy each household or business is using; providing feedback so they don’t overuse appliances during times of peak demand; tracking solar panel production as well as routing electricity directly to hospitals when necessary – providing essential emergency service provisioning capability.