What is a smart grid and why is it the future?
Smart grids are becoming a topic of interest in many parts of the world. The concept of being smart in this sense has to do with both the energy demand and supply being monitored online and several optimizations continuously taking place in order to find the most cost-effective production and consumption of electricity within the network.
The main difference from a smart grid to a conventional grid is the two-way communication between the power generation and consumption in contrast to the traditional one-way model.
The concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) is being incorporated in the power generation systems, including the transmission and consumption, in order to make the grid “smarter”. The main objective of the IoT is to make “things” more intelligent by using sensors that provide information to computational programs which access a database constructed by how the user uses the thing. This self-monitoring database is also updated with statistical analysis and different sources of information from other servers or users in such a way that the overall system improves itself. The information technology connecting the consumers and producers of electricity can speed up the energy transition, even with the natural intermittency of renewables.
In a smart grid, the sensors are installed in different points of the network, including the consumers, and read various parameters such as current, voltage, temperature, humidity and pressure. This information is then used to optimize the electricity production, transmission, and consumption, and to diagnose possible failures in the system, with the possibility of self-healing and isolating the failure part. The smart meters are another important feature of this type of grid, in which both the users and producers of electricity can have online access to real-time data.
An IoT device, for example, can be used in a house to control and optimize the usage of appliances based on the energy prices and personal preferences, helping to reduce the consumption and consequently the electricity bill. This subject is particularly interesting when considering the increasing number of households producing their own energy through solar PV or another type of renewable energy technology. The connection of a domestic PV system via the inverter to a smart network can provide an efficient management of the electricity generation, consumption and storage, optimizing each part of the system. The inverter can be monitored by smartphone applications, a laptop or a more sophisticated home automation system. Electric vehicles can also be integrated into this smart network and be able to charge or to provide electricity when more suitable considering the demand and costs of electricity.
Smart grids are also enabling the creation of virtual power plants, which is an example of a smart distributed network that uses sources from different small energy producers connected to a central control system. The system monitors continuously the different loads via smart devices that can be set to switch off in the case of a failure. The excess of electricity produced can supply the other participants in the pool, be injected to the grid or sold to other pre-defined users. Electrical or thermal storage systems connected to this virtual power plant can be used to balance the load and inject extra power during peak demands. Different types of resources can be integrated in a virtual power plant, including renewables and conventional technologies.
All these changes happening towards smart grids are real challenges for the Utility companies that typically manage complex and large networks still operating according to old standards. However, the potential of cost reduction and increase in reliability and performance are major drivers to accelerate this evolution. The expansion of the internet and the fast development of IoT sensors and advanced computational tools also contribute towards this transition. It will be a matter of time to see the transition of the grid to a more modern, sustainable and affordable version.
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