Smart meter based inverter controlling network for demand response applications in smart grids

The paper proposes an inverter controlling network which integrates demand response and energy management through a smart meter. The network consists of slave controllers each of which has the capability of controlling an inverter. The system incorporates one master controller which handles the communication with slave controllers, a smart meter with a ZigBee module for monitoring the overall power consumption, and a software application (centralized controlling system) to implement control actions-based on the data captured in the smart meter. The application-software applies on the system, the pre-defined constraints and priorities defined in the smart meter. Also the application-software communicates with the smart gird for demand responses, and derives appropriate load controlling (shedding/shifting) commands. These commands are then sent to inverter controlling network so that the energy consumption of the system is managed. The implementation of energy management and saving with integrated commercially available smart-meter is illustrated in this paper through the proposed inverter network. The features of the developed application software are also presented.