SMART WAT+ Abstract ………………………………………………………..Page 2 Problem to be Addressed……………………………………...Page 2 Analysis…………………………………………………………Page 3 Technical Solution……………………………………………...Page 5 Demonstration…………………………………………………..Page 10 Conclusion……………………………………………………....Page 10 Reference………………………………………………………...Page 11 Appendix A……………………………………………………...Page 12 Appendix B………………………………………………………Page 13 Appendix C………………………………………………………Page 14 Page 1 of 22 1. Abstract As the number of people with access to electricity around the world rises, electricity meters have grown in significance. Today, standard electromechanical energy meters enabling the monitoring of electricity usage are still a market leader in terms of absolute install base. The technology, established more than a century ago, is very limited in terms of data communication, forcing the majority of energy supply companies to perform manual meter readings or energy bill estimation. These methods either lower company profit margins or increase energy bills for the consumer. To address these problems, two major technologies have appeared in the commercial market, namely automatic meter reading (AMR) meters and meters using advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). Both wirelessly transmit data to the energy supplier; however have various limitations, the most significant being the cost. This is mainly due to the many other new functions these technologies provide, that are useless to the energy supplier simply wishing to reduce the cost of data collection. Due to the high costs, the absolute penetration of these technologies is low in most countries. SmartWat+ aims to provide companies and related consumers with a solution that aims to satisfy the wireless data transmission requirement. This is done using a simple and cheap add-on that can be fixed onto existing electromechanical energy meters. The add-on is programmed to take a photo of the analogue display of numbers on the old meters at a given time interval, process the image and then wirelessly transmit the converted data to the company. A low-cost camera, a microcontroller equipped with image recognition software, and a Global System for Mobile (GSM) transmitter are responsible for this action. The cost of the add-on device is significantly lower than those using AMR and AMI technologies in most countries, solving the problem described. Considering the number of currently operating electromechanical meters around the world, there is great potential for such a product. Even as major developing countries roll out AMI technology, new potential markets in Africa will emerge as electrification rates in the continent increase. This process, however, is relatively slow, in the range of multiple decades. The following feasibility report on the new energy meter add-on details the research and results concerning the potential need, and hence market for this product. In addition an overview of the technology needed for such a product to be built is presented. Finally, a conclusion is drawn based on the cost and performance estimations of the product, where these are compared to the original design specifications derived from the initial problem presented above. 2. Problem to be addressed The most widely used technology[2] indicating the electricity usage of a customer is the electromechanical watt-hour induction meter. It contains a disk rotating at a speed proportional to the power passing through it. The numerical value indicating the power usage rotates along with the disk, resulting in an analogue display, which must be read manually. Meter readings are costly, subject to error, slow, hence unpractical in an industry where a fast, reliable update to user’s consumption is invaluable to energy companies. Due to the significant advancement of wireless communication standards, coupled with worldwide wireless coverage, new electricity meter technologies have emerged with wireless data transmission capabilities. Nevertheless, their additional functions and complexity result in a high cost, limiting their install base in most countries. The problem therefore lies in finding a means to provide electricity meters with wireless capabilities to the majority of electricity users at a low cost and time frame. Page 2 of 22 3 Analysis The proposed solution is an electricity meter add-on, which adds data transmission functionality to the already installed electromechanical electricity meters. In order to develop suitable design specifications for the product, research into possible markets (countries) has been undertaken. The feasibility of implementing such a product is highly dependent on the country under consideration. Identifying the correct market, the competitors in those markets (modern electricity meters), in addition to their prices in these markets is of pivotal importance. These analyses are presented in the following sections. 3.1 Appropriate Markets A country where the implementation of an energy meter add-on is feasible has to meet several criteria for economic and technical purposes. These include: high electromechanical meter install base (in terms of percentage and volume), no governmental plans to introduce modern electricity meter technology on a national scale in the next 10 years[2], relatively high competitor prices, and reliable country-wide communications infrastructure. Research into 51 countries representing the world’s most significant energy meter markets has been undertaken using data from energy research companies[2]. Data from countries meeting all of these criteria are shown in Graph 1. Graph 1: Install Base of Electromechnaical Meters by 160 Country 140 Millions 120 All Electricity Meters 100 80 60 Electromechanical Install Base Electricity Meters 40 20 0 United States Germany Japan Romania Country There are numerous country-specific reasons why modern electricity meter technologies have not been undertaken. In the United States, energy meter markets are in private hands, and due to the recent housing crisis and lower than expected revenues; companies have not invested in the technology[2]. In Romania, the situation is similar, as recently privatised former national companies cannot afford to invest in such technology[2]. In some highly developed countries, consulting firms have not recommended nation-wide modern electricity meter investment, due to the high reliability and economy of installed electromechanical meters. This was the recommendation by Ernst & Young to Germany[1]. On the other hand, delays in plans to implement the technology have occurred in certain countries, namely Japan[2]. An add-on with the correct design specifications would be feasible to implement in these countries. 3.2 Competing Technologies 3.2.1 Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) AMR technology enables the wireless transmission of electricity usage from the energy meter to the energy supplier. There are two ways in which it can be applied to electricity meters. Page 3 of 22 Option 1: Adding a communications module to existing electromechanical meters. Option 2: Implementing the technology in a new digital solid-state electricity meter. Communication modules use optical sensors that detect the number of revolutions of the rotating disk of the electromechanical meter, while in the second option AMR electricity meters use digital current and voltage sensors to measure the power. Both options use simplex (one-way) communication between users and energy providers, and simply match the digital data with a user account. Limitations Option 1 – Small market share, can cost more than replacing existing electromechanical meter with a new AMR meter Option 2 – Costs still range between 46-80 EUR[2] in most countries, gives utility providers power to remotely deny users energy. 3.2.2 Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) This technology is a more advanced version of AMR. The key difference is that it involves a duplex (two-way) communication between the users and energy providers. This allows for more advanced functions such as electricity readings on demand, and energy forecasting using built-in software. Limitations Due to its advanced functions, energy meters using AMI technology are more expensive than AMR meters or AMR communication modules (price range typically between 80 to 150 EUR). In addition, sensitive user data can be collected leading to privacy issues including the vulnerability of that data if hackers gain access through the built-in software. 3.3 Development of Constraints The most important design constraint involves the target price of the add-on, as the main purpose of the technology is to provide a sought after function at a lower price. To set a price target, the price of the competing technologies must be assessed in each of the proposed countries. This is shown in Graph 2. Graph 2: Unit Price of Electricity Meter using AMR and AMI Technology Romania 236 *Note: AMR is Japan 80 not widely available in Romania and 68 AMI Germany Country Germany AMR United States 83 46 0 50 100 150 200 250 Unit Price (EUR) Page 4 of 22 From Graph 2, it is evident that the cost of competing electricity meter technology significantly varies depending on the country under consideration. Note that AMR is not present in Romania and Germany. The deductions are that a target price can be set at approximately 30 EUR to give high enough price margin. Considering countries rollout new meter technologies to 80%[2] of the consumer base in approximately 8 years [2] and add-ons are simpler to install, we can estimate 5 years to 80% of consumer base. Table 1 gives the