Smart metering systems add transparency and intelligence to our power consumption. Sustainable management of energy, gas and water helps utilities and customers. In the end, it ensures a better distribution of resources worldwide. This can only be achieved with networks and digitalization.
It is special care when everyone looks closely: A more sustainable consumption of energy, gas and also water is important for the well-being of our planet. If consumers know more precisely in what quantities they are using valuable resources, they are in a position to take countermeasures. And protect the environment. Smart meters can help. They transmit data via mobile networks and connect all participants in the electricity market: producers, those responsible for the networks, consumers and operators of storage facilities. According to the European Commission, smart metering reduces energy consumption in households by up to ten percent of annual consumption. This reduces CO2 emissions in the EU by nine to fifteen percent.
Smart grid helps save electricity
If all participants share all data with each other, providers can control their networks more easily and integrate new facilities or players. They balance the weather-dependent generation of wind and solar power with actual electricity consumption. Municipal utilities develop models for cooperation or offer new tariff models. Electricity customers decide for themselves when they use how much electricity. They can see how much electricity is consumed when they switch on a “power eater”. Networked washing machines or dryers could start automatically when a lot of wind energy is available.
International boom market
No wonder: The digitalization of metering systems is progressing around the world. 14 percent of all meters are now smart meters. Almost 132 million smart meters (electricity, gas and water) were shipped worldwide in 2018. This number is expected to grow seven percent per year to exceed 200 million by 2024. Kamstrup is an international player. The Danish company integrates meters into existing systems of the respective utilities. And it develops its own electricity meters. SIM cards from Deutsche Telekom are "on board" and are managed via a platform. Thanks to reliable connectivity with Telekom's international roaming, Kamstrup can respond quickly to tenders. “Worldwide deployment through our own salesforce and our distributors create a great complexity, as we demand high security and service for our customers. DTAG helps us in simplifying the world, to the benefit of our customers," says Allan Nielsen, Strategic Sourcing Manager, IoT Connectivity at Kamstrup.
There is still more to it
A quantum leap in environmental protection will be brought about by a digital data marketplace open to all players. Just think of the many power generators, distributors and customers worldwide. The intelligent measuring systems generate countless valuable data, not yet put into relation and evaluated. Central data management allows the integration of data from other market participants or environmental research. Very important: Historical data such as hours of sunshine for solar energy or typical energy consumption in relation to specific weather conditions can be linked, too. Only when experts can predict user behavior or even possible bottlenecks through smart analysis can resources be made available where they are needed. This is where the Telekom Data Intelligence Hub comes in. Just like a virtual marketplace, the energy industry shares information from its own systems with others. Securely and with defined usage rights. Thanks to agreed standards and open interfaces, the Data Intelligence Hub can use data from other formats. Using data analytics and artificial intelligence, experts enrich raw data to create insightful information. In this way, research and politics can set the course for the best possible use of our resources and everyone makes an effective contribution to environmental protection - worldwide.
