The biggest issue I had with the TED is that is uses PLC (powerline carrier) to communicate between the metering unit in the panel and the gateway device that is connected to your internet router. I also have an Insteon-based HA system that also uses PLC (and some wireless) and I was having an awful time with interference. I ended up having to completely isolate the branch circuit between my panel and the router with filters, and inject the TED signal there.
Duh! I should have dug into the web link further as I'm sure this would have been explained within... it's the logical way to deal with the minimal amount of data flowing. But also a clunky way of doing it as you noted.
I was responsible for my utility's smart meter implementation and for our conservation programs, so I had a lot of the vendors reaching out to me. The Bidgely folks came up from California and we met a few times. We were kind of pioneers in the early days with Canada's first deployment of our particular AMI technology (that BC Hydro, based partly on my experience, almost went with) as well as with some innovative conservation programs that relied on devices like the Rainforest module that could interface with smart meter data. We are currently running Canada's first pilot program with NEST thermostats and a custom demand response program. I've also worked with Ontario's regulator and Ministry of Energy on these programs as well.
The potential complexity of these sort of systems is really open-ended, isn't it! I went into Bidgely again today and I see some (I think) new possible signatures that can be detected. I went through them just now and added the EV (experimental!) and my geo system as 'AC'. I'll be interested to see if they are detected from now.
I'm curious about the level of detail the signatures contain though... I assume they simply look for a bump of an approximate amount of power consumption and look for the nearest number/appliance on the account list? Or is there enough resolution of the power curve to actually watch how a device comes on line? I'm thinking that the EV circuit (for example), ramps up a little as it checks the circuit, then down and back up to full draw. Or so the display in the car suggests. As well, with my geo system, the pumps come on line, blower speeds up... it's not a binary jump. I remember years back talking to some radio guys about how you could - in theory - identify 'repeater chunkers'. The idea was that every radio had a slightly different look to the signal as the transmitter activated and the PLL stabilized and it was a bit of a fingerprint for each radio. In a similar way, if there was enough resolution on the power detection, different appliances could be identified more accurately. I doubt the Rainforest system and smart meter have the ability to poll often enough to do this, but it's an interesting idea. The extrapolation I'm thinking about extends to how you could identify more appliances with better accuracy. A current transformer as the detection source might manage it.
And maybe if I read further into those sites I'd find that this is already in action...
I'm also thinking about how to *neatly* aggregate the data from the smart meter, inverter and perhaps current transformers elsewhere into one data set to work with. But I think it's beyond my limited coding abilities, even though I have enough basic Linux smarts and servers around to handle it in theory... LOL
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you are right the financial implication of going solar doesn't make sense in Calgary, the rate is very low like you've pointed out and ROI will take forever; silver lining is they also back off the admin fees and other BS charges on the hydro portion of the bill so that is good to see. My raison d'etre for the install was pretty much all to be e friendly ;-)
I have a relative in the High River area who has an offer on 80 acres of what I would call 'a field of weeds'. He wants it for his horses (well a good piece of it) and plans to build a small house and barn etc. Natural gas is a distance away and he's been told it'll cost around $10k just to bring it to his frontage. My thought was 'go with a closed loop geo-exchange system instead'. That idea was too green for him because it's your duty as an Albertan to burn natural gas... ;-) So he indicated the electrical costs would be too high. Never one to be outdone, I countered with 'build a solar farm on part of the land'. But hearing him spout off his electrical bill numbers, I got the feeling that although he was paying a dollar figure close to what I'd expect here in BC, his bill was filled with all sorts of charges that weren't entirely consumption-dependent. The cents per kWh were lower than here, but a pile of charges added on.
So my question, since I couldn't analyze the bill closely is, with a net metering system in Alberta, do you just save on the pennies per kWh, or do you also cut into the additional fees?
I'm always into the higher rate level in BC, so the rate I'm working with is about 12 cents a kWh. A long payback for panels. But his numbers were about half of that as I recall - which would make it even more difficult to justify if the other costs didn't drop as well.