EMerge Alliance announced the launch of a project to develop a standard for Direct Current (dc) Smart Meters for grid tied and remote microgrid applications. The Direct Current Smart Meter Standard is intended to define requirements for revenue grade metering of medium and/or low voltage dc in various types of hybrid ac/dc and pure dc microgrids and other power systems for either grid tied or off-grid applications where no grid is available.
EMerge Chairman Paul Savage explained, “the motivation for this action arose from requests from our members in both the utility domain and those working on building and campus microgrids who see the need to define the requirements for certifiable revenue grade meters for direct current applications.â€
David Lawrence of Duke Energy, an EMerge member organization, said, “While there are many experts on ac metering, the field of direct current metering is an evolving technology, so it’s most appropriate EMerge take on the challenge to bring together experts in both metering and dc technology to accomplish this important mission.â€
Market applications driving the use of direct current in microgrids and other power systems include: solar, wind and other native dc renewable energy use in buildings, campuses and communities; energy storage and net metering; dc fast charging of electric vehicles; increasing use of electronic devices, brushless dc motors in appliances and professional & consumer equipment; and servicing remote microgrids with limited or no access to utility grids.
An EMerge public webinar will kick-off the project at 2PM EDT (11 AM PDT) on September 20, 2016. The webinar will begin a series of on-line sessions intended to recruit participants and establish working groups to design the content of the standards. Stakeholders include: utility metering experts, dc microgrid experts, dc device/system OEMs, ac and dc metering device OEMs, dc academic experts, government and regulatory experts.
