Continuing the quest on Smart metering, in this post we look at how sometimes smart metering gets confused with some of the existing terminologies in the energy industry. Though there is no clear definition for the smart metering concept, following is a generic interpretation of the energy industry terms:
i. Automated Meter Reading (AMR)
AMR technology allows electric meters to be read remotely and at configurable time intervals. However real time reading with accurate billing is the only remote function supported by AMR meters in comparison to smart meters. AMR technology has been around is the energy industry for quite some time and has measureable proven benefits. Smart meters are sometimes also viewed as an extension of the AMR technology.
Clip on sensors are small devices that clip on to the cables running from the conventional electric meters and then wirelessly transmit the usage information to an in-house display unit. This gives the customer real time consumption information giving them full control of their spending. However there are NO remote functions supported by such sensors and hence Suppliers and Distributors do not have access to the usage information. However the clip on sensor technology is considered to be forward compatible with the smart metering initiative as smart metering infrastructure uses a display unit to present real time usage values.
iii. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)
Advanced Metering Infrastructure is interchangeably used with Smart metering. It is viewed as an extension of AMR which can remotely read gas, water meters as well apart from electric meters. However smart meters are much more than an extension of the AMR technology which will be apparent later in the document. A new term loosely coupled to AMI/ Smart metering is Automated Meter Management (AMM). AMM is viewed as a system with analytical and technical measurement ability sitting on top of the AMI or smart meter infrastructure managing the data generated by smart meters.
0 comments:
Post a Comment