Micro-Systems Driving Smart Energy Metering in Smart Grids

Energy is a precious societal resource, and increasingly rated for its ‘quality’ or lack thereof as a contributor to greenhouse gases (GHGs). Modern electrical energy systems operate at the intersection of technological advances in microelectronics, communications, and control. From individual components and systems such as computer systems to their aggregates and enclosures such as data centers and buildings, microelectronic advances in radios, processors, storage and networking are enabling low-cost and effective embedded sensing and its use in operational controls. In the context of energy distribution systems, this trend has led to popular visions of ‘smart electrical grids’ that dynamically match generation, transmission, and storage for the most efficient and reliable usage of electromagnetic energy. This article examines the technology components and their use methods that make an electrical grid efficient and reliable by increasing the visibility available to grid operators and end consumers alike. We show how ‘microgrids,’ which are self-managed grids with local cogeneration capabilities, can be used as testing grounds for the prototyping and testing of smart grid technologies. Using the prototype of a microgrid at the campus of the University of California at San Diego, we present energy data that points to promising methods for operation of various types of buildings that leverage the coordinated use of sensing, information processing, and building HVAC systems. Based on measurements and analyses, we show that for the emerging class of ‘mixed-use’ buildings – that is, buildings with a non-trivial component of energy use by IT equipment -significant possibilities exist to reduce total energy use from 10% to 30% based on effective duty-cycling of the IT equipment, without affecting the availability of the building and compute resources.