Thursday, 09 July 2009 23:21

Utilities around the world are currently replacing conventional metering devices with modern smart meters.  Consumers benefit from their use along with utility companies as they learn how to use energy much more efficiently.  

Utilising a smart meter, consumers are able to discover ways to alter their usage habits in order to save money by observing historical patterns and by checking the price of electricity in real time.  However, smart meters also use energy.  Little attention has been paid to the efficiency of smart meters.

Kamstrup has paid attention to efficiency and has launched a new generation of smart meters it is referring to as “The Green Difference.”  These residential smart meters have the lowest power consumption of any smart meter currently available on the market.

Tapping into their extensive experience with battery design, Kamstrup’s new smart meters only require 0.6 watts of power to function.  In a year’s time the smart meter will only consume 5 kilowatts of electricity.  Large utilities are installing hundreds of thousands of smart meters.  By installing Kamstrup smart meters, utility companies can make a big difference in efficiency that will benefit customers and the environment.

The low power consumption does not come at the expense of functionality.  The Kamstrup smart meter supports the DLMS/COSEM communications protocol to guarantee interoperability anywhere on the planet and supports the latest in home automation.  Remote meter reads and power management as well as intelligent home automation are also supported.  Consumers are able to access their consumption information remotely thanks to wireless transmission from the Kamstrup device to a computer or display device installed within the home.

Utility customers must be active participants in how they use energy.  Consumers lack the ability to precisely monitor their energy usage with a conventional mechanical meter but the display options available with the Kamstrup smart meter promotes active engagement.  Consumers can monitor their usage in real time and average usage over extended periods of time.

Bi-directional communications allow for the device to be controlled remotely.  This allows the Kamstrup smart meter to be automatically switched off when a usage threshold is reached for example.  Automated and secure billing is also supported and creates an environment ideal for prepayment plans.

Utilities benefit from the Kamstrup smart meter as well and become better able to manage the supply of power versus what the projected demand will be.  As consumers become more active participants in their energy use the level of demand will be much more predictable.

All this functionality is supported within a smart meter that is extremely power efficient.  Power savings can be taken to a new level using the Kamstrup device.

Kamstrup
Industrivej 28, Stilling
8660 Skanderborg
Denmark
http://www.kamstrup.com
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