In countries such as the U.S., the ‘Smart Grid’ is seen as the newest solution to stop global warming, which optimizes the delivery of electricity through IT. Function-rich electric meters are needed at individual homes for the smart grid to be implemented. HD-PLC has drawn attention as one of the solutions to make the meters more function-rich.

The smart grid is a next generation electricity network that automatically adjusts the flow of electricity between suppliers and consumers by using IT. It aims to become an electricity network where homes, businesses and power utility companies cooperate together in using electricity, replacing the electricity networks which power utility companies simply deliver electricity to homes and businesses. It is said that the implementation of the smart grid will promote wider spread use of environmentally friendly electricity generators such as solar energy systems and cell batteries. U.S.President Obama has announced he will allocate a large budget to implement the smart grid as a part of his ‘New Green Deal’ policy. Similarly, specific technological developments and sales activities to promote the smart grid are also taking place in Europe and Japan.

The key to delivering electricity both ways is to set up electric meters at homes/businesses that can send and receive. Most existing electric meters only measure the amount of electricity used. This means that the power utility companies cannot collect information from homes such as how much electricity was provided to the power utility company. This is why electric meters which can exchange information between power utility companies and homes, a meter that can connect to the network, become necessary. HD-PLC is currently one of the top choices as the network technology that can provide the solution.

Wideband Meter a Must

Electric meters with electric network capabilities are already in place in parts of Europe, long before the implementation of smart grid became a topic of discussion. However, the transmission speed is approx. 100kbps; this may be enough for power utility companies to automatically measure the amount of electricity used at homes, but it will not be able to support the smart grid.

In order to cut CO₂ emissions, electric companies need to constantly check how much electricity is used, and how much can be bought from each home. Based on that information, electric companies can optimize the power plants, reducing unnecessary generation of power. It is expected that smart grids check how much electricity is generated from each home every 15-30 minutes. It is fine to only check once a month to bill consumers for electricity use, but in order to exchange information frequently, the meters needs to be wideband capable.

There are other reasons why frequent exchange of information is necessary. If solar power use becomes more wide spread in the future, it is possible that there may be an overflow of power from homes or power with instable electric waves may be sent, affecting the entire power grid. Currently, this is not a problem since solar power has not gained wide spread usage, but it will become necessary to carefully monitor how much electricity is purchased from each home when the actual implementation of the smart grid starts.

• Reduce CO₂ by elevating the stress on power plants by using electric meters with built in HD-PLC modules which allows exchange of electricity