Development of an IoT-based Smart Meter for Efficient Technology-Enabled Energy Response (DISMETE2R)

In sub-Saharan Africa 600 million people lack access to electricity, mainly in rural areas. UN SDG7 includes universal electrification by 2030, but even optimistic estimations see 240Mn Africans lacking electricity in 2030\. With each new grid connection costing between $400-$1200 there is a growing trend towards distributed generation using renewable energy technology (particularly solar, as it has become a viable and cost-effective option for clean and secure energy access at a local residential and commercial level).

Decentralised/distributed energy resources (DERs), using renewable energy technologies (RET) as micro-grids can contribute to Africa's electrification, offering simplicity, affordability, faster deployment and cleaner alternatives. Evidence shows willingness to pay for DERs is higher than grid connection because they are seen as more reliable.

However, electricity demand/supply matching is critical to micro-grids' success by shifting demand from lower to higher availability times via demand-side management. With micro-grids' growth potential, demonstrating suitability along side (and integration with) the national grids to maintain stability, reliability and availability, while still providing competitive energy costs, is a key requirement.

DISMETE2R proposes an IoT-based smart-meter technology platform enabling individual households/small-businesses to track/understand/optimise their energy consumption patterns. The smart-meter will be simple to integrate with electrical panel/consumer unit cabling, interfacing with the power input(s) (incl. RE sources and grid) as well as the site's electrical circuitry phases/breakers in order to measure harmonic current content of the electric/power signal.

The platform should enable a modularised multi-energy source offering, while optimising energy source selection based on personalised energy usage data profile of residential/small-business consumers. They should also be SIM card enabled for wireless communications (GSM, GPRS, 3G/4G, WiFi, LoRa etc.) and continuous data collection via an AI/ML-based digital/mobile cloud platform to learn consumers' energy source/usage patterns, providing insights/recommendations on cost savings while being environmentally-conscious to optimise the energy consumption pattern between the RE and grid resource.

DISMETE2R will provide data-driven approaches for optimising consumers (residential/small businesses) energy consumption towards more cleaner energy (i.e. RETs) sources, bringing benefits for consumers and operators/regulators by: optimising consumers' energy usage/cost profile; and aggregating consumers data over time for grid/mini-grid operators/developers for enhanced load forecasting/informed infrastructure investment decisions.