Talk:Smart Grid Energy Research Center/Temp

The UCLA Smart Grid Energy Research Center (SMERC), located on the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, is an organization focused on developing the next generation of technologies and innovation for the SmartGrid. SMERC’s research demonstrates advanced wireless communication, and control technologies. SMERC has partnerships with government, technology providers, DOE research labs and universities, utilities, policy makers, and electric vehicle and electric appliance manufacturers, all which provide SMERC with diverse capabilities and exceptional, matured leadership.

The organizations ever-growing developments are created with the intention to satisfy the Smart Grid by allowing an increase in grid flexibility, integration of renewable energy sources, competitive energy pricing, integration of electric vehicles, improved efficiencies, and reduce power outages and losses. Overall this will provide a service by being more responsive to the market, consumer, and society in general. Currently, SMERC is performing research on Microgrids, Automated Demand Response, Electric Vehicle Integration (G2V and V2g), Cybersecurity, and Distributed and renewable integration.

Background
The current electrical grid in the United States is very reliable. Unfortunately, this reliability will not be maintained if systems stay the same as populations and electricity demands rise. This demand calls for innovative technologies and systems to provide and manage demand response, sensory/monitor repair, and self-repair to help stabilize the grid. SMERC has been building these technologies since the fall of 2004. The system also calls for better efficiently among energy generators and savers. Today, the current grid in North America very old and in many areas is up to 100 years old. Although it is efficient, the grid is inflexible and must be modernized to handle the intermittency of renewable energy sources (solar power, wind turbines, etc.). These energy sources, if resourced efficiently will prove to be extremely valuable to the grid, providing it with energy that is currently wasted. With this notable demand for electricity, there is a tremendous opportunity in the United States for innovation between the current electric grid and the next generations of systems using RFID and Integrated Sensors, Information, and Wireless technologies.

With awareness in Smart Grid growing, questions about what the new modernized grid will be like are being asked. Unfortunately there is no clear answer, in effect, predicting what an apple computer would be capable of accomplishing in 1976 (36 years ago) when apple released its first apple computer. . There is now enormous opportunity for experimentation, creativity, and research in Smart Grid technology. Entrepreneurs, universities, and other innovators are in the process of creating indescribable possibilities for the future Smart Grid.

Funding
The major starting point for investment into modernizing the current grid was the U.S. Department of energy’s stimulus package (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, i.e. AARP). The AART invested approximately $4.4 billion for Smart Grid research.

The Waxman – Markley comprehensive energy bill (American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009) increased the awareness and impact on the electric transmission grid. The act was designed with the intention to reduce greenhouse emissions by 17 percent by 2020. This reduction would require there to be a concentration on energy consumption and production. This bill directly and indirectly stimulates universities and private industries into being innovators in new technologies for the grid. Collaborations among, utilities, government, technology providers, and universities are made to provide information and technologies for the new generation of Smart Grid and Smart Energy Technology.

Projects
The Smart Grid Energy Research Center or SMERC consists of several key projects as follows:

UCLA WINSmart Grid™
“The UCLA WINSmartGrid™ is a network platform technology that allows electricity operated appliances such as plug-in automobile, washer, dryer, or, air conditioner to be wirelessly monitored, connected and controlled via a Smart Wireless hub.”

Overall the WINSmartGrid™ advantages are as follows: provides a low power technology, uses low standards-based hardware resulting in lower overall cost, wireless infrastructure for monitoring and control, open architecture for easy integration, plug-and-play approach, reconfigure ability, and service architecture with three layers – Edgeware, Middleware and Centralware.

The WINSmartGrid™ technology uses a three layered Serviceware architecture along with ReWINS technology.

A simple explanation of the process is that the Centralware makes a decision, the Middleware reads that decision, then maps and routes these decisions to the Edgeware, where the decisions are then sent through the low-level control signals.

The Edgeware: controlling and utilizing the wireless technology networks, and creation, management, setup of software and firmware. It connects with RFID tags, motion detectors, temperature monitors, or 10X controllers on refrigerators. Within the WINSmartGrid™ hub, a variety of monitors/sensors are supported that the Edgeware has connection with including humidity, current, voltage, power, shock, motion, chemicals, etc This hub is capable of supporting wireless protocols (e.g. WiFi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, GPRS, and RFID). The most efficient protocols seem to be the low-power protocols such as Zigbee.

The Middleware: The “middle man” between the Edgeware and the Centralware. Capable of providing functions such as data filtration, extraction of meaningful information, aggregation and messaging of data from the Edgeware, and distribution of the information to the proper destination/ web service accordingly.

The Centralware: Decision making web service. It receives all information and determines what the best decisions are based on rules and carries out the execution of these decisions. Currently the WINSmartGrid™ Centralware is running on a basic set of rules, whereas, it will eventually work with external intelligent services as they begin to come online.

Automated Demand Response (ADR)
“The Automated Demand-Response (ADR) programs shows control models and secure messaging schemes, automation in load curtailment, leveraging multiple communication technologies, and maintaining interoperability between the Smart Grid automation architecture layers.”

SMERC is in the process of creating a test area that would provide information on consumers’ energy usage and the distribution of that energy from a utility service. The test beds are located within the UCLA campus which will serve as a living lab for demonstration of ADR concepts. Since UCLA produces 75% of its own energy through its natural gas power plant, the campus is an easy and desirable place for conducting such ADR research and demonstration.

ADR will require control technology components and subsystems that will work with security, network standards, messaging, protocols, etc. in culmination with operational parameters. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) will also be checked for proper ability in terms of data volume and networking aspects. Further requirements such as rate design models, system-wide data and metadata modeling, etc. will be used to guide though system architecture The Demand-Response system provides an efficient service to utility systems and consumers. It is based on a service-oriented architecture (SOA) that would use information from the utility systems technical evaluations and requirement analysis to help assist integration modalities for backend utility systems. Through this architecture, real-time collaboration among the entire network involving billing, metering, distribution, etc., can be accomplished. Consumers are able to make requests and a supervisory controlling system can monitor the demands of the consumer. This Demand-Response system will also can be represented by various types of energy customers (e.g. commercial, residential, industrial). This will create unique and different load profiles and pricing for each type of these customers, all which the system must keep track of. With the WINSmartGrid™ technology, transactions can be communicated through wireless technologies to convey common data payloads. Currently, SOA in conjunction with open embedded system can provide support for plug-and-play and secure-demand-response. Also, there is an application programming interface (API) provides customizability and extensibility to the system.

The test beds will use certain automation technologies and will develop demonstration of the systems functionality, communication fidelity and reliability, testing of data, protocols, etc. These technologies are AMI-DR models, hardware and software interfaces, software architecture, access control policies, recommended security schemes and algorithms, and desired set of optimizations.

The testing phase would provide differently developed, detailed performance on the demand-response processes and technology components or sub-systems where efficient changes and predictions can be made to fulfill a targeted load curtailment and consumer demands.

The test beds for the current research will show its capability by covering diverse varying electric load classes. These load classes can be small like lighting, sprinklers, entertainment, controls, appliances, etc. and larger like pool pumps, HVAC units, motors, etc. and others like EVs/PHEVs. These test bed arrangements will provide vital research on the demand-response systems.

Electric Vehicle Integration into the Grid
The automotive market in California is unlike any other. With an immense population and energy consumption, the state calls for creative ways to conserve energy in the most energy-conscious and cost efficient ways. It comes to no surprise then that California would be the base for most significant electric vehicle (EV) innovators such as Tesla and Fisker. As these changes and innovations to the EV culture continue to grow, the next step is to supply this innovation with the capability to communicate and integrate EVs into the smart grid of tomorrow.

Currently, technology is being used and built in WINSmartEV™, focusing on this integration using an architecture which consists of both wireless and RF-monitoring and control technologies. The EV technology provides a more energy efficient, economical, and user friendly smart technology for charging an EV. As a long-term project it is important to research and demonstrate in order to provide visual evidence on project. This is being done in parking lots and charging stations located on the UCLA campus. These stations are monitored by our software systems in the Engineering Department with all of the EVs integration within our local utility’s managed grid.

WINSmartEV™ main objective is to increase stability of the local power system and reduce energy cost by managing all operations conducted in charging an EV. The most recent implementation developed allows for several EVs to charge at one charging station while receiving different, yet controllable current. This type of charging system will provide the user with the vast flexibility towards charging an EV. This system provides the user with conveniences pertaining to parking, price, time limits, and power consumption.

Another objective is that information from the electric grid and EV can be gathered wirelessly to determine more efficient charging capabilities for the EV. With the proper management of EV’s, charging and backfill operations can be used to lower electricity rates and flatten the load curve.

User interface allows the EV owner to have the capability of controlling where, when, why, and how to charge their vehicle. A EV user may use a handheld device to view a map of charging stations, schedule exact time charge, start and stop her charge at any convenience, and this all could be done from a single touch on a Smartphone or other handheld devices. Also, if necessary or requested, an alert can be issued to the driver when the battery capacity is need of charging.

SMERC evaluates EVs and charging stations patterns in order to determine the appropriate wireless technologies and sensor modules that are best for instillation. At conclusion, integrating the EVs with WINSmardGrid™ the local AMI and the Demand-Response will provide communication and alerting systems for WINSmartEV™.

Other Projects
Other projects in beginning stages or current development in the SMERC are Battery storage integration and Aggregation, Renewable Integration, Cyber Security, Wireless Sense and Control, Microgrid Technologies, and Consumer Response.