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Energy Procedia 103 (2016) 195 200

Applied Energy Symposium and Forum, REM2016: Renewable Energy Integration with
Mini/Microgrid, 19-21 April 2016, Maldives

Design and Implementation of a Smart Meter with Demand

Response Capabilities
Luis I. Minchala-Avilaa, Jairo Armijosa, Daniel Pesnteza, and Youmin Zhangb,c,*
a

Universidad de Cuenca, Av. 12 de Abril y Agustn Cueva, 0101168, Cuenca, Azuay, Ecuador
b
Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd., Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8, Canada
c
Xi'an University of Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710048, China

Abstract
This paper presents the design of a smart meter (SM) with demand response (DR) capabilities. The SM design is
tested in a simulation that implements an advanced measurement infrastructure (AMI), which allows a bidirectional
communication between the household smart meters and the distribution management system (DMS). The DMS
deploys an energy management system (EMS) that runs a simple demand response program (DRP) based on time of
use (TOU), consisting in peak and off-peak rates. Results from the simulation and the data collected from the SM
show significant improvements in energy consumption during peak hours thanks to the load curtailment strategies.
2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review
under responsibility
the scientific
committee
of the Applied Energy Symposium and Forum,
Selection and/or
peer-reviewofunder
responsibility
of REM2016
REM2016: Renewable Energy Integration with Mini/Microgrid.
Keywords: demand response; fuzzy control; smart meters

1.

Introduction

Smart meters (SMs) are gradually replacing the traditional meters, and are also being installed in new
microgrids. SMs transmit information to different information clients via SCADA systems and other
networks. One of the main features that SMs offer to consumers is the possibility to read in real time rates
and pricing policies, allowing the implementation of DRP. These features are being exploited by utilities
in order to achieve energy efficiency. Peak load reduction through an interactive reaction of the loads
installed at the customer premises, e.g. turn on schedulable loads when cheap generation is available,
increases network reliability and produce significant economic savings to the utility and the customers
[1].

Corresponding Author (youmin.zhang@concordia.ca)

1876-6102 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Applied Energy Symposium and Forum, REM2016: Renewable Energy Integration
with Mini/Microgrid.
doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2016.11.272

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DR may limit, in certain degree, the comfort of the consumers. Therefore, it is desirable to limit the
time during they may be exposed to such discomfort. Automation, monitoring and control techniques are
fundamental to correctly manage the energy-use process, making DR less hindering for the customer [2].
A report with successful results on the implementation of DRP is presented in [3]. Significant
economic savings are reported, since demand peak flattening avoids the need for more generation
capacity. In [4], a load scheduling algorithm is implemented through a combinatorial optimization
problem constrained by the maximum demand limit on a microgrid. The utility establishes TOU rates. In
[5], a DRP is proposed that enables households to participate in DR services. Half-hour-ahead rolling
optimization and a real-time control strategy are combined to achieve household economic benefits. A
fuzzy logic controller is utilized to determine battery charging/discharging power; proper rules are
proposed to ensure benefits from operating the battery storage system under the real-time electricity price.
Reference [6] presents a demand side management strategy for load shifting based on heuristic
optimization. The proposed optimization algorithm aims to shape the final load curve close to the desired
load curve. The restriction of this strategy is compliant in the number of shiftable loads in the system,
which users are willing to use at a different time. The results of this strategy are positive and show 5-10%
operational cost reduction and 14.2-18.3% peak demand reduction. Additional DR methods are
overviewed in [7].
This paper presents the design of a household SM with DR capabilities. An AMI simulation scenario is
developed in order to test the DR capabilities of the SM. The TOU rates method is implemented for the
simulation events. Additionally, an EMS processes real time data coming from the SMs, consisting of: 1)
power measurements; 2) time and date; 3) load priority; and 4) prices of the electricity. The SM in
conjunction with the EMS takes decisions on loads curtailment strategies. A knowledge based fuzzy
controller (KBFC) calculates dimming percentages of loads that allow these commands, and shifts
schedulable loads from peak consumption hours to low price energy generation hours. The results show
improvements in energy savings and successful application of the DR commands in the user premises
through the SM.
2.

SM design

SMs allow traditional meters capabilities as well as new features that aggregate intelligence to the grid.
SMs integrate the ability to remotely manage loads at the end-user premises by monitoring and
controlling the customers devices and appliances. A dedicated communication infrastructure, sensors and
control devices are required by SMs in order to effectively provide the interaction between the utility and
the customer facility [8].
There are a variety of experimental setups of SMs, as detailed in [9][12], which are designed to
provide the following features:
x To measure customers power consumption and generation;
x To support control function commands;
x To enable demand response capabilities; and
x To enable a variety of communication capabilities.
Fig. 1 shows the block diagram of the SM design proposed in this research. The central processing unit
of the SM is based on open source hardware (Raspberry Pi) due to the flexibility of programming and
configuration this platform offers. The power measurement is performed through the dedicated integrated
circuit AD7753, which needs an analog front-end (AFE) interface composed by a current sensing stage
(Hall effect current transducer FHS-40P/SP600) and a voltage sensing stage (voltage divider). The
measurements are sent via a serial peripheral interface (SPI). Fig. 2 shows the printed circuit boards
(PCBs) of the implemented hardware design.

Luis I. Minchala-Avila et al. / Energy Procedia 103 (2016) 195 200

Fig. 1. Block diagram of the SM

Fig. 2. (a) ADE7753 board design. (b) FHS-40P/SP600 board design

The Ethernet link of the control unit (Fig. 1) allows the SM identification through an IP and MAC
addresses. The SM data is the combination of the following: meter identifier, timestamp, energy
consumption values, control commands acknowledgment, and loads status (on/off, dimming level, and
priority). The SM establishes a bidirectional communication with the EMS in order to send information
regarding the energy consumption and to execute DR commands. Reference [13] shows a typical EMS
architecture to apply the AMI concept. The DRP that is to be tested in this research is the TOU program.
A simple pricing scheme composed of low, medium, and high rates is implemented. The energy price
depends on the generation availability and load consumption. The DRP is implemented through a KBFC,
which processes the energy consumption, pricing information, date/time, and load priorities. Fig. 3 shows
the KBFC overview for implementing the DRP in the households through the SMs.

Fig. 3. KBFC overview

The KBFC processes four inputs and calculates the dimming levels of the loads and the shifting times
for schedulable loads. Fig. 4 shows the membership functions of the inputs and outputs of the KBFC.
Fuzzy rules are designed to identify non-priority loads during peak hours and to shift the consumption to
the off-peak hours, as well as to reduce the load consumption of loads of the type HVAC (heating,
ventilation and air conditioning), through dimming commands. This KBFC does not consider consumer
comfort and is only devoted to the energy saving strategy. For consumer comfort consideration, see for
instance the DRP proposed in [14], which includes a consumer comfort index in the decision variables
prior deciding load shifting and switching.

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Fig. 4. (a) MF of the energy consumption. (b) MF of the energy price. (c) MF of the load priority. (d) MF
of the consumption time. (e) MF of the dimming command. (f) MF of the shifting load command
3.

Simulation setup

The simulation scenario developed to test the SM design is shown in Fig. 5. The real-time pricing is
simulated with information obtained in [15]. The AMI developed consists of a telecommunications
infrastructure, five simulated SMs and one SM implemented in a household prototype. Every simulated
household and the prototype contain three types of loads: 1) HVAC loads (dimming loads); 2)
programmable loads; and 3) interruptible loads.

Fig. 5. Simulated AMI scenario for testing DR capabilities of the SM

The benchmark model is developed in the SimPowerSystems of Simulink, which also simulates the EMS
that runs the FKBC for every household of the model. There are some limitations in the testing platform
as well as the controller design:
x Delays of the telecommunications network are not considered;
x There are not any load prediction scheme included in the KBFC (future work); and
x The climate conditions are not considered for dimming commands calculation.

Luis I. Minchala-Avila et al. / Energy Procedia 103 (2016) 195 200

4.

Simulation results

Figures 6 to 8 show the results of applying the DRP through the designed SM meter in a household
prototype (Fig. 6), in a simulated household that includes three types of loads (Fig. 7), and the
neighborhood energy consumption that consists of the simulated load plus the load installed in the
prototype (Fig. 8). The results show improvement in the energy consumption, since the peak load is
reduced and the valleys of the demand curve without the DRP have a better usage due to the shifting of
the schedulable loads to these hours of consumption, which have lower rates. The curtailment strategy
calculated by the KBFC shows an important improvement in the load consumption of the entire system.
7000

Normal Consumption
Consumption applying DR

6000

Demand (Watts)

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0
00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Time (hours)

Fig. 6. Results of energy consumption in the household prototype when the SM implements DR
House1
9000

Normal consumption
Consumption applying DR

8000
7000

Demand (Watts)

6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Time (hours)

Fig. 7. Results of the response of simulated programmable loads under DR commands

x 10
6

Normal Consumption
Consumption applying DR

Demand (Watts)

0
00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00

Time (hours)

Fig. 8. Load demand of the simulated neighbourhood

The dimming percentages calculated by the KBFC are in the range of 70% to 95%, but no weather
conditions are considered in the calculations, which could have an important impact in the user comfort.
On the other hand, the shifting commands applied on the programmable loads allow a better energy usage
of the entire system, as it is shown in Fig. 8. The total peak demand reduction is about 10% and the total
percentage reduction of the operational energy consumption is in the order of 15%.
5.

Conclusions

An SM prototype that implements DR commands is presented in this paper. A significant

improvement in the energy usage is achieved when the SM implements the DRP designed in the EMS.
The peak demand is shifted to the valleys of the consumption curve, improving the system reliability and

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generating significant costs savings for the utility and the consumer. The proposed KBFC helps to
mitigate excessive consumptions, prioritizing the energy savings. One of the drawbacks of the proposed
system is that it does not consider the user comfort, which is important in order to develop a less
aggressive load curtailment strategy. The results of the energy savings in the household prototype show
an effective implementation of the DR commands by the SM in a domestic house.
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