Using smart meters data for energy management operations and power quality monitoring in a microgrid

Smart metering devices have become an essential part in the development of the current electrical network toward the paradigm of Smart Grid. These meters present in most of the cases, functionalities whose analysis capabilities go further beyond the basic automated meter readings for billing purposes, integrating home or building area networks (HAN/BAN), alarms and power quality indicators in some cases. All those characteristics make this widely spread equipment a free, accurate and flexible source of information that can replace expensive and dedicated devices. Therefore, this paper presents the integration of a commercial advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) in the context of a smart building with an energy management system (EMS). Furthermore, power quality monitoring based on this AMI is explained. All the details regarding the implementation in a laboratory scale application, as well as the obtained results, are provided.