The Future of Smart Metering: What’s Next?

Smart meter technology is crucial in moving toward a more sustainable future. The smart-meter market has grown significantly since its introduction, with about 111 million advanced metering infrastructure installations just in 2021. As more make the switch, utilities are looking at leveraging this technology to provide better services to their customers while also improving their bottom line. 

However, we still have many challenges to overcome if we’re going to realize our full potential as an energy-efficient society. Envocore is here to explore all sides of smart metering: current state, emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities in the future of smart metering technology as well as case studies that show how these technologies have been used successfully in various parts of the world.

The Current State of Smart Metering

The current state of smart meter technology is an exciting time. It’s an industry still growing as more companies and governments look to implement smart meters in their energy distribution systems. 

A smart meter is a device that measures and records the consumption of electricity, water, or gas in a home or business. Smart Meters are used for various purposes, including monitoring energy usage and providing customer feedback. Smart metering also helps people save money by providing information about their energy consumption habits to make more informed decisions about using electricity or gas.

 

Emerging Trends in Smart Metering

The future of smart metering is bright. Several emerging trends in Smart Metering include, but are not limited to:

IoT & Its Impact on Smart Metering

The IoT is already revolutionizing how we live and work, and it will be no different for the energy sector. IoT is a technology that allows the creation of a network of connected devices, things, or sensors that can communicate with each other through cloud computing. This helps to gather data from these devices and use them for various purposes, including monitoring, control, and optimization of operations.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an emerging trend in Smart Metering technology that is expected to bring significant improvements. According to the Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, AI can be integrated with Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) technology, which is the current Smart Metering technology, to improve energy management and reduce energy costs for consumers.  

Blockchain Technology

A blockchain is a distributed ledger that stores data across multiple computers instead of being stored in one central location like traditional databases do today. Blockchain technology is an emerging trend in smart metering technology due to its potential to increase reliability and decrease costs in managing wide-range metering networks. It has the potential to foster trust between peer-to-peer networks due to its considerations regarding security and privacy concerns within the Internet environment. Blockchain can also provide accurate, authenticated, transparent transactions with predictable, pre-approved fees and full audibility for smart metering systems.

 

Challenges & Opportunities in the Future of Smart Metering

While smart meters are undoubtedly a step in the right direction, some challenges still need to be addressed. The two most significant issues facing this technology are data privacy and security. To ensure that customers’ personal information remains secure, utilities need to implement strong encryption systems on their servers so hackers can’t get access to them. The second challenge is ensuring that all your devices are protected from cyberattacks by installing anti-virus software. 

Smart meters have many benefits over traditional ones: they allow users real-time feedback about their energy usage and provide valuable insight into areas where customers may be able through efficiency initiatives such as changing habits or upgrading appliances/devices with newer models designed specifically for low power consumption.

 

Case Studies

Envocore has been involved in many smart meter deployments over the years. We’ve learned a lot along the way and want to share some best practices with you so that you can learn from our successes and challenges. Learn more from our case studies below!

• City of Wichita Falls, TX
• City of Moberly, MO

 

Speak with the Professionals at Envocore to Learn More

Smart metering technology is changing how we think about energy consumption and helping us move toward a more sustainable future. We’ve looked at some of the current trends in smart metering and what they mean for its future. We’ve also looked at some of Envocore’s case studies that show how businesses use this technology today.