Japan English
The following page content corresponds to the products marketed in Japan.
If you do not live in Japan, please
Efforts to Implement Smart Grids
1) Toward a Low-Carbon Society
Throughout the world efforts to shift to a low-carbon society are beginning in hopes of reducing output of greenhouse gases. Electric power is a particularly important area where work is actively underway to switch to renewable forms of energy, such as solar or wind, that do not consume fossil fuels when generating electricity.
However, the amount of power that can be produced by renewable energy sources is affected substantially by weather conditions, so there is concern that the stability of the electrical grid could be jeopardized as the scale of their use expands. In addition, demand for power is expected to increase rapidly, due in part to the future adoption of plug-in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles. This raises the possibility that the power system as a whole may be unable to cope with future demand.
Against this background, the "smart grid" concept has emerged as a way to maintain the stability of the power grid while enabling effective utilization of power. In the United States the Obama administration has announced A Green New Deal positioned as both an environmental measure and as a way to stimulate the economy, in which investment in smart grids is a prominent component. This has generated a great deal of attention in smart grids, particularly in the United States.
2) Smart Grids and Their Ripple Effects
A smart grid uses communication technology and IT to link all components of the power grid, including generating stations, distribution facilities, transformers, businesses, and households. It is a system intended to enable the stable supply and efficient usage of electrical power. The latest technology is used to give "intelligent" functions to the entire power distribution grid, making it a "smart" grid capable of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and boosting energy efficiency.
The idea of the smart grid is not merely to bring innovations to the power distribution system. Its scope of application is broad and multi-branched, and it is hoped that the adoption of smart grids will give rise to a variety of new services and industries. Businesses related to smart grids that are considered to have high growth potential include the following.
- New systems for storing and managing energy
- Sales and billing systems for solar energy, etc.
- "Visualization" of power usage and automated meter reading using smart meters
- Household appliance control (demand response, demand side management, etc.)
- Security (anti-theft) and fire alarm systems, etc.
3) Increasing Importance of Communication and Networks
The foundation of a smart grid is a communication infrastructure, and the role of this infrastructure is expanding to cover the entire power grid. Key applications for communication technology in smart grids include enabling efficient operation of solar cells, etc., detection of faults in grid transformers, management of power peaks, monitoring of power consumption in businesses and homes, control of equipment that uses electric power, and communication between different pieces of equipment.
The communication format can be selected to match the application, with possibilities including wired communication, wireless communication, and power line communication. Wireless communication simplifies installation because no wiring is required, and there are a variety of wireless technologies now available with transmission capabilities ranging from near field to long distance. For example, remote meter reading (in which power usage is monitored at regular intervals) can be accomplished by incorporating power meters into a wide-area wireless network. It also seems likely that power line communication (which uses existing electric power wiring) will become widely used for applications such as communication among different pieces of equipment within a single building.
By networking multiple communication formats it becomes possible to achieve flexible control throughout the entire smart grid. A home area network (HAN) can be used to control equipment in the home and eliminate power wastage. A wide area network (WAN) or the Internet can form the basis for a large-scale power infrastructure.
4) Smart Meters: Gateways to the Smart Grid
Power companies have been moving forward with adoption of electronic meters and automated meter reading (AMR) as ways to reduce the personnel costs associated with meter reading (manual checking of the gauges of electric meters to determine power use) and to combat tampering by means of magnets and the like.
By adopting electronic power meters the power companies are able to collect a variety of types of data on power usage, allowing them to provide more fine-grained service. For example, by offering pricing plans that make it cheaper to consume power during times of day when usage is lowest overall, they provide consumers a way to save on their power bills (by using electricity when it is cheapest) and reduce the load on the grid during peak times.
Now power companies are going further by introducing Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). AMI is defined as a comprehensive power control system that, in addition to automated meter reading and improved service for consumers, includes capabilities such as operation and maintenance of power equipment over a wide area, support for recovery from natural disasters (such as lightning strikes), and sale of power from solar cells (sale of electricity to the power company). The electric meters with the advanced functions needed to make AMI a reality are known as "smart meters."
Smart meters can measure power usage almost in real time, and by establishing communication links with the power company via a wide area network (WAN) it is possible to implement capabilities such as bidirectional power control and bill payment by means of prepaid cards. Future possibilities include enabling power companies to adjust air conditioner temperature settings via the network in order to reduce power demand peaks. The introduction of smart meters is already required under national or state policies in some countries overseas.
