The IP-enabled grid – more than just smart meters

Henning Schulzrinne

Department of Computer Science

Columbia University

Overview

• Motivations:– utilities:

• demand reduction (DR) cuts expensive peak power• smart meters avoid meter readers, better outage

information• storage management plug-in hybrids as energy storage

– consumers:• cost reduction: DR, automated temperature adjustment• convenience: pre-heat/cool home, vacation home monitoring

• Integration with other communication technologies

Components and Interactions

BPL

“what’s the projected cost of a kWh at 1500?”

“wash at 1900”

“charge at 2300”

“alert: power outage!”

Future developments

• Appliances and lights with built-in networks– Zigbee (802.15.4), powerline

Ethernet?

• Smarter commercial buildings– quantitative standards for energy

efficiency rather than LEED list– occupancy sensors for lighting and

heating

more energy efficient than

electronic

more energy efficient than

electronic

Need for integration

• Notification

• Data aggregation– feed energy usage into neighborhood data

base

• Other– use cell phone GPS to predict home arrival?– use calendar to track absences?

power outage at your parents’

house

power outage at your parents’

house

What’s needed?• Avoiding stovepipe systems• No maintenance, no configuration

– literally, plug-and-play

• Protocol and technology needs:– notification of events– control of devices (heating, appliances, vehicle, …)– discovery of other sensors and devices

• Some existing efforts, but often legacy– designed for commercial use (e.g., BACnet)– specific to one L2 technology (e.g., Zigbee)– cumbersome security (manual password configuration)

A role for SIP?

NOTIFY“power outage!”

MESSAGE“start wash!”

NOTIFY“new rate: 15c/kWh”

Conclusion

• Consider system as a whole– including home & building security

• Integration with other services– intelligence may not be in meter– not just home-local

• Security and zero maintenance: designed in, not bolted on

• Role for existing IP communications protocols?