Smart Meters measure your kilowatt hour (kWh) usage of electricity and transmit that information to DEMCO using wireless radio frequency (RF) technology. RF technology is the same technology as used with common items already in your home such as baby monitors, wi-fi networks, and cell phones.
What network do smart meters use?
How Do Smart Meters Communicate? Smart meters communicate by way of two wireless networks: the home area network (the HAN) and the wide area network (the WAN). Like computers sync with printers, the HAN links with the devices in your home and transmits encrypted energy data to an electricity meter.
How are smart meters powered?
A smart meter is a mechanical device that measures the electricity consumption of a building. These automated meter reading devices sent meter readings to the energy supplier only (you as the customer did not have access to the data), and primarily measured kWh. Today's electric meters are smart.
Do smart meters use Zigbee?
The communication protocol used for the Smart Meter HAN is Zigbee as it is simple, inexpensive, low power and secure.
What are the benefits of Zigbee Smart energy?
Zigbee Smart Energy (Zigbee SE) is a protocol designed for monitoring and actively managing energy consumption at the end-user level. For both utilities and consumers, Zigbee SE can help reduce waste, energy consumption and enables utilities to monitor and manage customers' energy use.
What is Zigbee technology?
Zigbee is a wireless technology developed as an open global standard to address the unique needs of low-cost, low-power wireless IoT networks. The Zigbee standard operates on the IEEE 802.15. The protocol allows devices to communicate in a variety of network topologies and can have battery life lasting several years.
Can you cheat a smart meter?
Smart meters widely used in Spain can be hacked to under-report energy use, security researchers have found. "We took them apart to see how they work," said independent researcher Javier Vidal who, with Alberto Illera, found the flaws in the smart meters.
Why do we need smart energy?
Smart technology allows companies and households to use energy more efficiently, reducing the need to build more power stations, some of which burn polluting fossil fuels such as coal or gas.Nov 6, 2016
Where is ZigBee used?
Zigbee is typically used in low data rate applications that require long battery life and secure networking. (Zigbee networks are secured by 128 bit symmetric encryption keys.) Zigbee has a defined rate of 250 kbit/s, best suited for intermittent data transmissions from a sensor or input device.
Which topology is used in ZigBee smart energy?
ZigBee networks support star and mesh topologies. Three types of devices are defined: Coordinator: this is the device that coordinates and forms the network, which means that every network must always have one.
Why smart meters are a bad idea?
What are the disadvantages of smart meters? Change behaviour for savings: Smart meters don't automatically deliver savings. Customers have to actively engage with what their In Home Display is showing and change their behaviour based on its information, or they won't see their bills fall.