Sep 22, 2008 Smart metering solution for solar power
Under the National Solar Schools Program, it is a requirement of the grant to include a smart meter with the
new photovoltaic / solar power system. A school must provide
consumption data of the electricity used and electricity generated by
the solar system.
For schools wanting to maximise the
educational value from the metering system, a web-linked system for
monitoring is allowed for in the grant. The Datacall Telemetry System
provides a complete solution for this section of the grant.
A smart meter is a solution for consumers of electricity to view their electricity consumption over time. With photovoltaic / solar power systems
, generation can also be measured. The consumption or generation can
be graphed, to see what time of day peak consumption and generation are
in their electricity usage and how this changes seasonally.
Using
a range of standard power meters with pulse signal output, the Datacall
Gateway will collect power generation and consumption information.
Datacall is entirely independent of PV module and inverter brands.
To
attain the best metering results, a reading every thirty minutes can
allow for accurate power consumption over time. A smart meter and
display are requirements of the installation of a photovoltaic system
under the National Solar Schools Program .
The
web based application provides a range of up to date information
services such as customisable graphs to view power generation over
time, exportable data on the power generation and consumption. All
data can be updated in a range of intervals from once every minute, to
once every day.
The web based application can also be used to
link up information from multiple schools, allowing comparative data
analysis between schools in their generation and consumption. In fact,
if all schools in a state were monitoring with Datacall, the relevant
Department of Education could view the overall power generation of the
schools!
In May 2008, the Datacall Telemetry System was used to
coordinate a smart metering system and display the information on an
easy to understand display representing the power generation, current
power consumption and the overall consumption of PV solar energy over
time. This display formed part of Aurora Energy Pty Ltd's Agfest display during early May, 2008.
If
you would like more information, we have included an application note
on our website at www.datacall.net.au, for further information about
ordering a smart metering solution from Datacall Telemetry, contact
Andrew Willcox through our contact us page or (03) 6229 0588.
