NEW PERSPECTIVES IN AMR TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION FOR CONSUMER LOAD MANAGEMENT M.I.C. STEPHENSON Cambridge University- UK Barcelona May CAM_Stephenson_A1 CONTROL & MONITORING, DEVELOPMENT OF COSTS & COMPETITIVENESS 1 M. SCUTARIU Electrica Muntenia Sud- Romania Presenter P.M. STEPHENSON Kingston University- UK

2 AMR- Automatic Meter Reading “Reading a utility meter without the requirement for visual inspection of the meter” Meter Interface Unit Data Collection Unit Data Transmission Examples phone lines /dial-up power line carrier, LAN, Wireless (handheld or WLAN ) Utility Company Computer database Barcelona May 2003

3 Technologies for enhanced AMR Short-range radio data communication BLUETOOTH Packet-based data communication over mobile telephone networks GPRS ( General Packet Radio Service) Barcelona May 2003

4 General Packet Radio Service- GPRS Used for / web browsing from mobile phones Packet-based data protocol No dial-up time and speed comparable with a modem Charged by-the-byte not by-the-second Can provide a cost-effective, wireless, always-on, two-way data link between electricity company and its meters Card Phone Barcelona May 2003

5 GPRS- Key facts Barcelona May 2003 PACKET data transfer GPRS module Data transfer rate56kbit/s Typical cost per module€140 Typical data cost per MB€ €2.50 Typical module dimensions 45x89x11mm

6 GPRS enabled AMR System Utility Company Computer Mobile Phone Provider Internet Barcelona May 2003 DATA PACKETS 2 way data transfer

7 Benefits of GPRS-enabled AMR Infrastructure already exists – mobile phone net gives economic, packet based data transfer Data is charged by-the-byte and system is “always ready” to send packets Uses the internet – communicating with many meters simply requires a single broadcast message Intelligent Meters may send back additional information eg Peak load, Power Quality, Outage etc Barcelona May 2003

8 GPRS Real-Time Pricing Application 2. Determines the list of customers for tariff change 1.Central computer registers change in price band Via the internet and GPRS connection, it updates all meters to the new tariff or price Barcelona May 2003

9 Bluetooth and devices - Key Facts Barcelona May 2003 Bluetooth Typical Range~50m200m Data transfer rate1Mbit/s11Mbit/s Typical cost per module €5€50 Typical module dimensions 30x20x5 mm50x50x5 mm

10 Bluetooth / Short-range radio data technology (50* - 200m) Designed for wireless networking and to eliminate wires between mobile devices 1- 11Mbit/s bandwidth ( 20x-200x faster than a modem) Bluetooth devices identify each other when brought close together* (* Bluetooth range depends on class) Bluetooth Module Barcelona May 2003

11 Why use Bluetooth? 1Mbit/sec data rate provides ample bandwidth 2.4GHz band is license-exempt, worldwide Modules are small, inexpensive (~$5 each) & could be retro-fitted to an existing digital meter Non-directional – does not require line of sight Bluetooth devices identify each other uniquely and automatically Barcelona May 2003

12 Hardware for wireless enabled AMR Digital Utility Meter Small antenna Low-power Microcontroller Small amount of RAM/ROM Bluetooth/ Transceiver Barcelona May 2003

13 Bluetooth devices in piconets communicate with each other Data can be cascaded from one BT meter to another and aggregated at the meter-reading unit. Cost savings–meter reader needs no entry to premises-200 meters read in minutes via hand unit Bluetooth based AMR - Data cascading Barcelona May 2003

14 Extension of wireless based AMR system - Data Logging Each digital meter already has a small CPU and memory Adding data-logging capability would be trivial software matter. Load profile data can be stored, and downloaded when the meter is read Half-hourly load data for six months could be downloaded in 20 seconds via Bluetooth. Barcelona May 2003

15 CONCLUSIONS 1 - GPRS Packet-based data over mobile telephone networks - flexible and economic Two-way data link for AMR anywhere with mobile phone coverage A rapid and relatively cheap way to communicate in real-time with a large number of utility meters Uses the internet, with possibilities to create a “dedicated or private internet” Barcelona May 2003

16 CONCLUSIONS 2 - Bluetooth / Short-range radio data communication Devices low cost / flexible but short range Allow Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) without personnel entering premises, giving cost savings and potential for enhanced data recovery Overlapping piconets allow data cascading BT/ devices do not need line of sight Barcelona May 2003

NEW PERSPECTIVES IN AMR TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION M.I.C. STEPHENSON Cambridge University- UK Barcelona May CAM_Stephenson_A1 CONTROL & MONITORING, DEVELOPMENT OF COSTS & COMPETITIVENESS 17 M. SCUTARIU Electrica Muntenia Sud- Romania Presenter PAULE STEPHENSON Kingston University- UK THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION I WILL BE PLEASED TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS