Who is the most "deaf" component in the smart grid

Which is the most "deaf" electrical component in the smart grid? Is the power distribution screen in your home or office. Now even the door locks are rapidly entering the digital age, and the power distribution screens that people are using are rarely digitized.

An Israeli company is trying to change the status quo, for which they have concentrated their efforts for a long time. CES gives the following features to the CES smart power distribution panel:

1: Configured a 1 meter, supporting up to 8 loops for monitoring and billing, not only supporting full-circuit monitoring, but also monitoring and billing for each loop separately;

2: Two-way communication module that supports most current standards;

3: Control the open and close load control switch of each circuit;

4: Each circuit is equipped with a timer (control can be opened or closed according to schedule);

5: Each loop is equipped with overload protection and arc fault circuit breakers;

6: Phase balance - the average distribution of load through each phase (very useful for charging electric vehicles);

These features are available through a very scalable embedded software program or through your own software application interface.

Intelligent power distribution screens can also switch between different energy sources, enabling seamless switching between grids, energy storage, backup power, or new energy sources such as rooftop solar. The owner can program CES software to choose the most economical energy source. For example, you can choose roof solar energy when the weather is good, sell excess electricity back to the grid, and switch to a battery or grid if needed. Each time, the system automatically calculates the most economical energy.

In addition to hardware, the company has also created a software platform with the following features:

7: Standard smart home software (can control the lighting of each area switch, reduce the amount of wiring);

8: Create energy management software (In the event of a demand response, close the preferred or lowest priority device, then close the next lower priority device, then close the third low priority device...)

9: Demand response software (for example, run a demand response event at 3 pm, send E-mail and SMS to all customers).

The software even supports time-of-use pricing, allowing building energy managers to plan their building performance. They can set five loads to be closed first when the electricity rate reaches X cents, and four loads that have priority to close when the electricity rate reaches X+5. The three loads that are turned off preferentially at X+10, and so on.

How much is the cost?

The product is currently assembled in Israel. Depending on the number of loops, the pre-installation cost is between $1,500 and $3,000. Currently working with global manufacturers to negotiate the CES collaboration contract, as the manufacturing volume increases, the cost will drop.

Even so, CES smart power distribution screens are clearly the first choice for today's new projects and large-scale transformation projects, and may not be applicable to renovation projects. CES has installed 80 units in the United States, including hotels, bases and apartment buildings.

Why is the key to cooperation strategy?

The bottleneck in the development of CES is not mainly in technology, but also in manufacturing and cooperation. Today, CES establishes partnerships with builders, photovoltaic integrators, and regional distributors. Its future is obviously dependent on cooperation with global giants like Schneider, General Electric or Honeywell. In fact, CES has cooperated with General Electric in the military base and several electric vehicle charging station projects, and has also conducted a small number of pilot projects in cooperation with Duke, Southern and other companies.

In fact, the smart distribution panel has been selected by the PecanStreet project to provide household services with photovoltaic power generation, energy storage equipment and electric vehicles. The first batch of products will be installed in the near future.

The author has been puzzled why we have embedded sensors, monitors, and digital intelligence units in every part of the power value chain, but have forgotten the power distribution screens. Until I heard that CES is seeking a breakthrough in this area, the author can finally relax.