Brighter Future For Interoperable Smart Meters And Energy Efficient Appliances

Posted on 25. Sep, 2009 by Ross in Europe, New Technologies

Hopes are growing that smart meters might start to live up to their billing as agents of increased energy efficiency, rather than smart meters just benefiting energy companies looking to lay off staff and charge people more quickly.

This week three leading smart meter manufacturers, Iskraemeco, Itron and Landis+Gyr, have agreed interoperability standards across markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The agreement will spur the development of smart metering, say the companies, and bring the EU and UK closer to their 2022 and 2020 roll out targets.

Energy regulators, policy makers and the industry have been calling for universal definitions and communications standards for better smart meter technology, so that they can interface better with smart energy-efficient appliances and home PC energy monitoring software - necessary for households to understand smart meter bills. With input from major utilities, Iskraemeco, Itron and Landis+Gyr have demonstrated in tests that each company’s smart meter technology is interoperable with the others.

In each case, the smart meters incorporate interoperable device interface specifications (IDIS) based on open international standards defined by the DLMS-User Association. For the customer, this means that they will be able to mix and match products from different suppliers and they will work together seamlessly.

Itron are a company at the forefront of truly smart meters. Last week their meters were the subject of a 5 million unit roll-out in California along with energy company Southern California Edison, all of which are future-proofed to deliver higher household energy efficiency by communicating current energy prices to household appliances, which can then decide whether to turn off or not based on the energy or carbon cost.

Talking to Energy Efficiency News (www.energyefficiencynews.com), Steve Cunningham, CEO of Landis+Gyr UK and Ireland, told them as smart meters are rolled out on a large scale, common interoperability standards will deliver a better, more robust quality of service.

But energy suppliers and meter operators are likely to benefit first from the agreement. The open standards should make it easier for meter data management and networking providers to develop complimentary products, he says. It also loosens objections to wide-scale roll-outs of smart meters, placating fears that current smart meters would be unable to satisfy future demands for appliance interaction which are the long-term key to seeing substantial energy efficiency improvements.

The agreement on interoperability standards is a hugely important step, believes Cunningham. “It gives governments and utilities across Europe a new level of confidence in their investments,” he says.

Within the next few years, he told Energy Efficiency News, we can expect to see standards mature quickly across Europe and spread out globally.

Image by cote at Flickr