A Novel Approach for Bi-directional Energy Metering Based on Integrated Rooftop SPV Systems

Abstract

The major challenge for any utility grid is to balance the generation and load demand. Though the efficiency of grid is improving, but variation in load demand is increasing con- sistently. However, the variation in load demand can be reduced by integration of distribu- tive generation (DGs). DGs include penetration of renewable energy sources (RES) like wind, hydro and solar into smart grid (SG). In this regard, the proposed work implements net energy metering (NEM) with rooftop connected SPV (solar photo-voltaic) energy using a bi-directional energy meter. In addition to it, a novel hardware design of IEC61000 and RoHS compliant net energy meter based on STPM34 controller has also been proposed. This energy meter is capable of calculating the net energy usage from the utility grid. The detailed architecture of net energy meter has been discussed along with the results. The data from the net energy meter is monitored through graphical user interface setup in PC using UART based control.