andyf0 Posted November 17, 2011 Posted November 17, 2011 Centerpoint Energy in Houston has been installing Smart Meters on houses for the last couple of years. They finally got around to installing one on my house. These meters have a ZigBee radio in them so you can monitor usage in the home. I can't find any compatible displays to read these, does anyone know? The Orchestrator system seems to have a Zigbee radio in it, any chance UDI might be providing an ISY99 interface to read these Smart Meters?
Michel Kohanim Posted November 17, 2011 Posted November 17, 2011 Hi Andy, We actually do have ISY994i ZS which supports Zigbee SEP 1.1 for Smart Meters. There are two issues: 1. Your utility has to let you register ISY ... this is not a simple process and they usually choose vendors they want to work with 2. If you are far away from the meter, then you will need a range extender In short, this is not something you can do without active participation from your utility. With kind regards, Michel
andyf0 Posted November 17, 2011 Author Posted November 17, 2011 That is really interesting. I'm assuming this is a superset of regular ISY functionality with extra h/w right? It will still function the same as my current ISY99 Pro? Question is would I need to work with my electric provider or Centerpoint who owns the infrastructure? Centerpoint does have a web portal to let you access the meter in 15 minute intervals but I'd much rather access it locally. What is the approx range of the Zigbee radio?
Michel Kohanim Posted November 18, 2011 Posted November 18, 2011 Hi Andy, Yes, it's a superset with Zigbee SEP functionality which allows you to get meter information (total, yesterday, instantaneous, and other attributes depending on the utility), price information, and they can even send you Demand Response and Messages through the meter. As I mentioned before, I do not think you'll be able to do anything with 994i ZS without active participation from your utility (I think that would be Centerpoint). We use high powered radio with a range of about 1/2 mile in open space. This said, homes are usually not that "open" ! With kind regards, Michel
andyf0 Posted November 18, 2011 Author Posted November 18, 2011 Thanks for information. Another question, would this ISY be considered a HAN device? I can register HAN devices on my account at Centerpoint's website. It talks about being able to send messages to the HAN device when it wants to.
Michel Kohanim Posted November 18, 2011 Posted November 18, 2011 Hi Andy, Yes, this is a HAN device and acts as an IHD (In Home Display). Does the interface allow you to register with a Link Key? With kind regards, Michel
andyf0 Posted November 18, 2011 Author Posted November 18, 2011 Excellent. Unfortunately it can take up to 60 days before I can open an account. Presumably the meter has to be registered in the portal and I've only had it for a week. Without being able to log in I can't get to the user guides. Do you guys sell this ISY direct or would I need to go through SH? Would I be able to restore my current ISY backup on it or have to start from scratch? Does it use the same f/w that I have now, e.g. does it do variables? I'm only about 30-40' from the meter, there are walls. That should be close enough, right?
Michel Kohanim Posted November 18, 2011 Posted November 18, 2011 Hi Andy, You can indeed purchase the units from us but there's yet another issue: SEP (Smart Energy Profile) uses ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography) for encryption and thus we would have to test our ISY with their production certificates. To answer your questions: Do you guys sell this ISY direct or would I need to go through SH? Direct or through utilities. Would I be able to restore my current ISY backup on it or have to start from scratch? Yes. Does it use the same f/w that I have now, e.g. does it do variables? Yes. I'm only about 30-40' from the meter, there are walls. That should be close enough, right? It should work. With kind regards, Michel
johnnyt Posted November 19, 2011 Posted November 19, 2011 Michel, would the 994i work with the smart meters deployed in the province of Ontario? Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk
Michel Kohanim Posted November 20, 2011 Posted November 20, 2011 Hello johnnyt, 994i ZS would work with any SEP 1.1 certified meter. SEP is the standard protocol for Smart Meter communications with the HAN (Home Area Network). The only problems are those described above. With kind regards, Michel
andyf0 Posted November 21, 2011 Author Posted November 21, 2011 Hi Andy, You can indeed purchase the units from us but there's yet another issue: SEP (Smart Energy Profile) uses ECC (Elliptic Curve Cryptography) for encryption and thus we would have to test our ISY with their production certificates. How would you go about doing that? I see HAI has some IHDs (don't know how to buy one) that come with with production certificates or with test certificates. I really don't know what that means.
Michel Kohanim Posted November 21, 2011 Posted November 21, 2011 Hello andyf0, Our production certificates are based on the number of orders we get. You may want to contact Centerpoint and checkout the process for them to allow "any" third party device register in their network. That would be the first step since most utilities do not allow for unapproved devices to join the network. Once we have that, we can work with them to get the certificates. With kind regards, Michel
andyf0 Posted November 21, 2011 Author Posted November 21, 2011 OK, now I just have to figure out whether it's Centerpoint, the utility company or Champion Energy the Retail Electricity Provider. Centerpoint does seem to be pushing alot of details onto the REP.
Teken Posted December 9, 2011 Posted December 9, 2011 OK, now I just have to figure out whether it's Centerpoint, the utility company or Champion Energy the Retail Electricity Provider. Centerpoint does seem to be pushing alot of details onto the REP. Andyf0, Did you receive any replies from the providers? Teken . . .
andyf0 Posted December 17, 2011 Author Posted December 17, 2011 I'm still waiting for the ability to register my meter on the SmartMeterTexas website. Says it can take up to 60 days. Once I get access I can supposedly register my HAN devices. I'll start calling them in January if I can't get in.
andyf0 Posted December 23, 2011 Author Posted December 23, 2011 Michel, I was finally able to register with the smartmetertexas.com website. These are the instructions to add a HAN device: Help: Before you Add a HAN Device make sure you have reviewed the Manufacturer's instructions to install and operate your new HAN Device. To Add a HAN Device: Provide an optional description to help you remember this device, e.g., "Den Thermostat". Select the Type of HAN Device. Enter the Device MAC Address and Installation Code. You may find these two numbers in the Device Manufacturer's box. Both MAC Address and Installation Code contain hexadecimal characters only, this means that these numbers contain only the following letters: ABCDEF and the following numbers: 0123456789. An example of a MAC Address is: 001BC5007000052B. An example of an Installation Code is 83FED3407A939723A5C639B26916D505C3B5. The installation code can have a maximum of 36 characters. If you can not find the MAC Address and Installation Code for your HAN Device, contact the Device Manufacturer. Do you supply the MAC address and Installation Code? How much does this new ISY cost? How would I buy one from you? I don't see it on your shopping page.
Michel Kohanim Posted December 23, 2011 Posted December 23, 2011 Hi andyf0, This is excellent news! We are currently going through Zigbee/SEP1.1 certification which should help a bit. My only concern is that different meters do things differently. I know that we can reliably communicate with Itron meters but, unfortunately, this does not mean that we can handle others the same way. Can you look at your meter and let me know the manufacturer? With kind regards, Michel
andyf0 Posted December 23, 2011 Author Posted December 23, 2011 Here's a picture of it. I think if you click on the photo it'll take you to my Flickr site where you can click on the photo to make it bigger. Untitled by AndyFisher, on Flickr
Michel Kohanim Posted December 25, 2011 Posted December 25, 2011 Hi andyf0, Excellent. This is an Itron meter two of which we have in our office for testing. Once we get the certification, I'll contact you with instructions. With kind regards, Michel
andyf0 Posted December 25, 2011 Author Posted December 25, 2011 Great, I look forward to hearing from you!
andyf0 Posted December 27, 2011 Author Posted December 27, 2011 Well, after a few days now, the online web portal sucks. True, it gives you consumption in 15 minute increments but only for data from 2 days back. I want to be able to see real time usage. I think the advertising for this capability has been a little bit misleading. Two days back is too old to mean anything.
Michel Kohanim Posted December 27, 2011 Posted December 27, 2011 Hi Andy, With ISY994 SEP version you will get immediate/real time reading from the meter. I shall keep you posted. With kind regards, Michel
andyf0 Posted January 11, 2012 Author Posted January 11, 2012 Michel, how long does it take to go through the certification process?
Michel Kohanim Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Hi Andy, Currently we are on the queue for end of February. With kind regards, Michel
andyf0 Posted February 29, 2012 Author Posted February 29, 2012 It's the end of Feb. Don't forget to let me know when this is available. I'm still looking forward to it. Is there a User Guide/Screenshots regarding the Smart Meter monitoring?
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