Advanced metering infrastructure definition
Advanced metering infrastructure is a system that enables two-way communication between customers and energy suppliers. It includes smart metering, data management, and communication networks.
See also: smart meter
Advanced metering infrastructure technologies
- Smart meters are digital devices that record the use of electricity, water, or gas in short intervals. They also regularly communicate that information to the supplier for monitoring and billing. These are the most fundamental parts of AMI.
- Wide-area communications infrastructure gathers the data from individual smart meters and sends it to the utility company. It can cover large areas, such as cities or entire regions, hence the name “wide-area.“
- Meter data management system (MDMS) is a big database that collects, processes, and stores the data gathered from the smart meters. It's like the brain of the AMI system, storing and analyzing all the data the meters collect.
- Home (local) area networks (HANs) may also be part of an AMI system. That allows consumers to interact with their smart meters to get real-time information about their energy usage and even control some home appliances.
- Operational gateways provide an interface between different types of networks or protocols in the AMI environment. For example, the data collected from smart meters is transmitted using one communication protocol while the supplier’s data management system uses another. An operational gateway can translate between them, ensuring the data can be understood and processed. Such gateways often also include security features to protect the data's integrity and privacy.
