Your Meter Should Be As Smart As Your Phone
Technology plays such a pivotal role in our daily lives, it can be easy to forget how fast it moves—look at phones. Less than 20 years ago you would have to check emails on a desktop or print out maps to check directions in the car.
Today, smartphones provide an essential platform for everything you need, fueled by real-time information collected and analyzed at source. What’s exciting for utilities is that smart meter technology has been going through an evolution of its own.
Traditional meters have been stuck in the slow lane, typically operating on past data collected every 15 minutes to offer a fuzzy snapshot of what’s happening across the grid. Today, next-generation AMI 2.0 technology is making the same leap your smartphone has.
With embedded intelligence enabled by partners like Sense, 50 million times as much data as first-generation smart meters can be processed at the grid edge. AMI 2.0 meters tap into the same computing power that allows smartphones to process the high data rates they need to. And by connecting to home WiFi, they can deliver real-time actionable insights.
The result is that a meter now has the capabilities to be as smart, adaptable and beneficial as your smartphone. Moving to AMI 2.0 technology is like swapping out your Nokia 8210 for an iPhone.
Unleashing the energy transition
This could not come at a better time for utilities. Electricity demand is surging across the US as data centers, electric vehicles, and other demand sources are rolled out to match the needs of our modern society. At the same time the intermittency of clean, distributed energy resources calls for new approaches to grid management.
Distribution grids are not ready for this energy transition. More wires, power plants and other hardware aren’t enough to get us where we need to go. New solutions to reach consumers and deliver greater grid-edge visibility and control are needed more than ever. Thankfully, next-gen smart meter technology is here today.
AMI 2.0 technology offers the scalable and powerful network we need to unleash the energy transition affordably and effectively. Sense’s AI technology sits within these meters at the grid edge to deliver in-home intelligence in real time. For utilities this capability offers a detailed bird’s eye view of what’s happening on the system, transforming how it can be managed.
Crowdsourcing grid management
Apps like Google Maps have revolutionized how we travel in cars by crowdsourcing real-time data to provide drivers with insights on their journey. AMI 2.0 can do the same for utilities. Just like when Google Maps uses the speeds of vehicles connected to the app to identify traffic problems, a meter equipped with technology like that provided by Sense can detect unusual power fluctuations or outages and instantly report them to you. But that’s just the start.
The in-home device provides utilities with a direct line to households. Where Google Maps helps drivers avoid traffic or find the cheapest gas stations, you can use AMI 2.0 meters to alert consumers of changes in grid conditions or real-time pricing. The result is a community of users running appliances or charging EVs when prices are lowest and at times that work best for the grid.
The two-way relationship creates a whole new dynamic between consumers and utilities—one that’s interactive, responsive, and truly smart.
A grid-scale health check
AI-enabled AMI 2.0 meters let homeowners and utilities alike carry out a smart home health check on devices and how they interact with the grid. Where health apps like Oura might track your heart rate or sleep patterns, Sense uses AMI 2.0 to monitor energy-hungry devices to detect and warn you about any changes in a home’s energy consumption patterns.
The embedded intelligence within AMI 2.0 meters can analyse energy consumption up to one million times a second to detect the difference between a heat pump and a hairdryer. Apply this capability across a grid and we can transform our relationship with energy in the same way that personalized health monitoring has reshaped wellness.
The time is now!
Decisions need to be made today to take advantage of this potential, with nearly a quarter of meters in the US due to be replaced by 2030. The energy transition will happen during the lifespan of meters being installed now.
AMI 2.0 meters installed today can be updated remotely to evolve and address tomorrow’s energy challenges. Many electric vehicle drivers have experienced the value of remote updates that improve range, add new features, or optimize performance years after the vehicle first took to the road. The same is true for AMI 2.0 smart meters with embedded intelligence. They continue to grow in value and functionality long after installation.
Everyone benefits from lower costs and a more flexible grid fit for a cleaner future. Adopting AI-ready AMI 2.0 smart meters delivers the platform on which technology like that provided by Sense can deliver these system benefits for all of us.