White Paper – Wireless WAN for the Smart Grid

Although most of the public attention on Smart Grid focuses on metering and consumer solutions, there is a third area that often gets overlook: distribution. Distribution networking provides two-way broadband wireless communications to connect substations and distribution grid devices to the utility’s head-end for significant operational benefits. The “always-on” capability of the distribution network not only enables the process automation of centralized SCADA and DMS applications but also enables on-demand management of the grid from centralized operators.

The Smart Grid wireless WAN white paper is available for download.

What is a Smart Grid?

From transportation to commerce, education to health care: the Smart Grid is a networking and communications infrastructure comprised of energy monitoring devices installed in homes and businesses throughout the electricity distribution grid. This collective organization provides a “nervous system” for the grid giving consumers the ability to monitor and control energy consumption comprehensively in real time across the Wireless Mesh. Think of it as the Internet for Energy.

Key elements include:

Why Are Standards Important for a Smart Grid Deployment?

Why Standard Hardware (off the shelf chipsets)?

Long-term viability
Thoroughly proven
Global supply chain
Industry expertise
Low cost via economies of scale Interoperable / no vendor lock-in

The Evolution of the Smart Grid

The Smart Grid is going through an evolution unlike anything the electric grid has seen in nearly a century. As shown in the diagram above, this evolution can basically be segmented into distinct versions of the Smart Grid:

1. Smart Grid v0.0 – this wouldn’t even be classified as a “smart” network since each network used proprietary protocols to read meters on isolated networks. This phase is typically associated with automated meter reading (AMR).