LF Energy launches open source smart meter data gateway

Linux Foundation (LF) Energy has announced the Super Advanced Meter (SAM), an open source specification and reference software project focusing on a widely applicable smart meter data gateway. The new software is hoped to boost the development of the meter as a reliable virtual node in the energy grid and drive the energy transition.

The project focuses on a widely applicable smart meter data gateway. It aims at the central device that is installed with almost every energy consumer and thereby serves as the edge device to provide services to customers world-wide. The SAM distinguishes itself by adhering to open interfaces, modularity and customer empowerment.

According to LF Energy, an open source foundation focused on the power system sectors, the SAM aims to create a worldwide applicable meter and respective data gateway specification. It will focus on basic metering functionality, country-specific functionality, third party functionality and integration capability for system operation applications.

These standards and requirements are hoped to boost the development of the meter as a reliable virtual node in the energy grid, enabling the energy transition and supporting new business models.

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Capabilities

LF Energy cites the design’s following capabilities:

• Measuring electricity
• Interfacing with gas, water and heat meters
• Communicating dynamic pricing and greenhouse gas emission data on premise
• Supporting outside communication for meteorological data and party data communication. This limits the interface scope and any WAN (Wide Area Network) service thereafter is excluded from the SAM scope.

LF Energy has also stated that those users measured will have control over their own data.

A special focus is put on the gateway, which is the smart part and provides the functionality to connect to the respective meters and enable communication towards LAN (Local Area Network) and WAN as well as translation between them via current and future standards.

Besides measurements and connectivities, the smart gateway aims to enable edge computation to manage and control energy resources and network devices for the operation of decarbonised and electrified power systems.

The main stakeholders in the project are Utilidata, heading the use-case working group and Alliander, heading the overall project.

One of many

The software was one of four announced by LF Energy.

The others include:

• Carbon Data Specification Consortium (CDS):

  The Carbon Data Specification (CDS) is a data dictionary for raw data and a standard for data requirements that enables energy data access for measuring, quantifying and tracking carbon emissions from energy production and consumption.

These standards and requirements are hoped to boost confidence in data sources, increase data utilisation, promote scalability and enable data aggregation for centralised platforms. This in turn aims to support and inform grid decarbonisation pathways and decision-making.

• OCPP Cloud Connector:

  A cloud-based implementation of the Open Charge Point Protocol, the de-facto standard for Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE).

  The connector will supply a web socket connection in accordance with the specification and transform OCPP protocol specific messaging into a generic set of messages and events, aiming to allow a developer or company to easily integrate EVSE control into new or existing infrastructure.

• GridLAB-D:
  
  An open source project and power distribution system simulation and analysis tool that provides valuable information to users who design and operate distribution systems, as well as to utilities that wish to take advantage of the latest energy technologies.

  The technology, developed by researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in collaboration with industry and academia, is a flexible simulation environment that can be integrated with third-party data management and analysis tools. At its core is an algorithm that coordinates the state of millions of independent devices, each of which is described by multiple differential equations.