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The solution may be in HAN – leveraging information and control
By Ron Chebra
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Frequently, utility business cases consider the use of a Home Area Networks (HAN) as a valuable extension of AMI functionality to provide key benefits. While the debate continues over which technology will become the winning standard, it is clear that there are some functions that have a strong dependence on the existence of a HAN independent of specific technologies.
In assessing the HAN and the peripheral devices that would be connected to this network, it is becoming more apparent that there is a growing interest the HAN among both utilities and consumers. Because each party has specific interests and levels of control that they may wish to extend to the other, it is likely there may be more than one HAN serving the premise, rather than a sophisticated walled or partitioned master HAN.
In a recent study for a client, KEMA examined the emergence of the utility, customer and joint HANs. Within each of these areas our team explored the following aspects:
- Controlling element of these networks
- Typical devices that would populate each network
- Size of communications payload that would be exchanged
- Frequency of information exchange
- Latency tolerance
- Security requirements
- Cost sensitivity of adding network connectivity
- Suitability of RF technology to support this network.
In examining some of the key operational characteristics of elements that would likely reside on the utility HAN (uHAN), customer HAN (cHAN) and the joint HAN (jHAN), some common and unique parameters can be compared. These are shown in the chart below:
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This is shown in the diagram below:
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uHAN
Within the uHAN, it is most likely that the AMI meter will be a gateway or pipeline of information. However, the meter may or may not be the controlling element of this network. The decision of the control may be dependent on a number of factors. However, regardless of the locale of the overall controlling intelligence, there clearly is a need for a user friendly device such as an energy management system or intelligent display unit. While a programmable communicating thermostat may represent a near-term proxy for this, it is likely that a larger screen, more flexible and readily accessible unit may emerge.
The devices and characteristics that would be native to the uHAN include:
- In home Display Unit
- Direct Load Control (DLC) cycle switches and
- Gas and Water Meters
- Some distribution automation assets (Transformer monitoring units, etc.)
cHAN
Within the cHAN, there a variety of devices that would likely be connected. These would include:
- Home computers and related peripherals (printers, scanners, etc.);
- Media centers such as video and audio elements (HDTV, DVR, sound systems, etc.);
- Appliances (as noted in last month’s article);
- Gaming systems (Wii, etc.); and
- Security systems
In this environment, there may be one or more controlling elements, each with its own focus of management and delivery. The primary driver for the cHAN would more likely be focused on two key functions: extension of Wide Area Network (WAN) access to the Internet for media downloads, shared gaming, security, and maintenance monitoring for interconnectivity and common use needs such as Storage Area Networks and content sharing.
jHAN
However, there is an overlap of these networks where some devices elements would be accessed and managed jointly by both the utility and the customer the jHAN. The elements that would fall into this category include:
- Home Automation/Energy Management Systems (HA/ EMS)
- Lighting control systems (LCS)
- Programmable Communicating Thermostats (PCT)
- Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles (PHEV)
In this jHAN arena, the mutual needs of the customer and the utility have unique and common functional requirements. The unique requirements of the utility would be focused on energy management, load control, and demand response. Access to the elements that can provide assurance of load reduction helps the utility more accurately predict reduction potential. This capability is a significant improvement over the traditional direct load control programs (DLC) where the finest granularity of information is measuring the aggregate reaction to a command to turn of a customer group and appliance type. This finer level of detail would enable localized measurement and verification (M&V) to ensure that participants are active in the DR program.
From the customer’s perspective, this shared environment of the jHAN, allows levels of personal choice and control and development of more sophisticated scenario developments that are condition based. For example, a home automation system may be programmed to respond to a load reduction request that is based on outside temperature, time of day, and internal load forecast. As a result the lighting may be reduced, temperature incrementally changed, and changing the charging rate for the Plug-in Electric Hybrid Vehicle to 50 percent for a given premise compliance. This scenario may be applicable for Critical Peak Pricing (CPP) events occurring between 3 and 4 pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday where the outside temperature is between 90 and 95 degrees. However, if the security system has been set for “AWAY” the implication would be that there is no one is at home, a condition that would be confirmed by the lack of PHEV load. In this case, the HVAC may be further reduced to meet the demand request.
Interactions Between These HANs
While this begins to sound more like the “Jetsons,” the realization of the collaborative and interactions of the consumer and their consumption are just now beginning to be fully realized. These HANs share some common characteristics, but they also have some unique requirements.
Generally, the uHAN will be defined by the SmartMeter and the capabilities that are supported by the hardware, firmware and communications infrastructure. The cHAN however will be defined by the customer and their choice of equipment. Within the cHAN, WiFi networks, infrared controllers and CAT5 wired system have long dominated this environment. The connection to the outside world is normally provided by a Broadband modem and router.
The intersecting jHAN, would require the development of gateway or bridging means that would need to support a firewall privilege and authorized access across these networks. Developing standards and common processes for the emerging jHAN areas requires industry and customer collaboration and adoption. This is of critical importance for the significant load elements (and potential supply elements as well) that would likely be connected to the jHAN.
PHEV’s represent one such element that has a level of complexity. While conceptually, the PHEV would be charged when the supply source is abundant and low cost and potentially could be a storage resource that could feed the grid. However this condition would require many logistic components such as vehicle use scheduling, intended use and communications between the PHEV and the grid.
While the technical processes and interactions can be readily identified, it is the personal desire for the freedom to have unscheduled use or instant access that would require social and behavior changes. These factors are more complex to achieve than the technical device and grid interfaces.
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Download the June 2008 Issue
Use the link below to download the PDF of the full issue of the June 2008 Automation Insight for the complete print versions of the articles.
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[download] Automation Insight - June 2008 (.pdf 488 kb)
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