How the IoT Helps Smart Meters Save Electricity

05.01.2023 by Annalena Rauen

Monitoring a building’s electricity consumption on a tablet


 

The IoT takes metering to the next level, from mechanical to digital where smart meters make electricity consumption more transparent and energy saving easier.

How much electricity, gas and water do I actually use? How much does heating cost me right now and how can I reduce my heating costs? Or how can I as a network operator respond more flexibly to supply and demand for electricity in view of the irregular feed-in of renewables and increasing numbers of consumers such as electric vehicles? Questions like these currently preoccupy many of us, both private consumers and energy providers. Smart meters might help to come up with precise answers to them. Their rollout is making slow headway in Germany, however. According to a PwC study only half of the country’s meter operators have even started to install smart meters in private homes. 

Smart Metering: Brave New Energy World

Yet these smart devices could help to achieve energy turnaround targets faster. Digitization and using the Internet of Things (IoT) transform meters into smart meters (see Info box). Smart metering can help to integrate solar, wind or CHP power efficiently into the electricity portfolio and to optimize network utilization, thereby easing the burden on power stations and opening up new lines of business such as dynamic electricity tariffs. Operators can then offer electricity for sale at especially favorable rates when large amounts of wind and solar power are fed into the grid. Smart systems will then transform he network into a smart grid.

Definition: What Is a Smart Meter?

Smart meters are intelligent metering systems for electricity, gas, water or heating. They consist of two components: a digital meter and a communication unit, the smart meter gateway (SMGW). The digital electricity meter—unlike the conventional analog meter—records precisely not only the current meter reading but also the time of consumption (day, week, month, year). The gateway sends this data—by cellular telephony, for example—to the meter operator, the company that installs, operates and maintains the meter. The meter operator is not, as a rule, the power utility but a local network operator. Helpful information is available from the Consumer Advice Center (Who Does What—Power Utility, Network Operator, Meter Operator) and the Federal Power and Water Industry Association (BDEW) (Smart Metering—What You Need to Know About Smart Metering Systems).


 

Increasing emissions, declining national energy resources and rapidly rising energy prices have led of late to growing consumer interest in digital metering systems. They require flexible electricity tariffs and both smart meters and smart homes, however—a combination that will not be in place in the short term.

How Safe Are Smart Meter Gateways?

Smart Meter Gateways (SMGW) must fulfill exacting data protection and data security requirements and are therefore tested and certified in Germany by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). According to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) these security standards are even higher than those that are used in online banking. The metering system sends consumption data anomymized or pseudonymized to legitimate recipients only and only for clearly defined purposes. After processing the data must be deleted without delay.


 

Remote reading also means that cost-, time- and CO2-intensive journeys to read meters on-site are no longer needed. Tenants no longer need to wait hours for the meter reader to arrive. Smart meters enable companies to improve their energy consumption, optimize their energy management and reduce their energy costs by means of IoT technology.

Cellars Accessible Too

Electricity meters are often to be found in basements and cellars without nearby Internet access. That frequently rules out an uninterrupted connection with a smartphone, tablet or computer IoT solutions help customers to receive and evaluate meter data. The NarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT) standard’s extremely high level of building penetration makes remote meter reading possible even in these circumstances. A standardized technology based on LTE, it is also very safe and secure.


 


Greener, More Digital, More Efficient Due to IoT



Greener, More Digital, More Efficient Due to IoT

To meet the challenges of climate change business and the civil society must tackle ambitious targets. With the Internet of Things companies can make a decisive contribution – and save on valuable raw materials too.

More about IoT & Sustainability

To meet the challenges of climate change business and the civil society must tackle ambitious targets. With the Internet of Things companies can make a decisive contribution – and save on valuable raw materials too.

More about IoT & Sustainability

Curvy country road in forest from bird's eye view
Annalena Rauen
Annalena Rauen

Marketing Manager IoT

Back in 2016, Anna worked on IoT topics at Deutsche Telekom for the first time. Since then, she has been supporting customer best practices in a wide range of industries – always focusing on the benefits that the Internet of Things can provide. Her IoT blogposts describe real use cases and the value these innovations add to market players, their business models, and even entire industries.