Swiss companies Paradox Engineering and Azienda Elettrica di Massagno (AEM) have partnered to trial Smart Grid IoT solutions.
The technology firm signed a three-year agreement with electrical power distributor, AEM, earlier this week to develop new technologies that will enable better management of power distribution, and to design new public utility services in Switzerland.
The partnership will begin by trialing new Smart Grid and Smart City solutions based on the Internet of Things (IoT), with the aim of improving the efficiency of existing infrastructures, promoting sustainable growth, and boosting the local economy.
Related: US Department of Energy invests in PARC “Peel-and-Stick” IoT sensors
Smart Grid Project
The Smart Grid trial project will be developed in tandem with The University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Italian Switzerland (SUPSI).
It will see Paradox Engineering’s network platforms used to deploy smart meters, which will collect information from energy-consuming devices, such as boilers and heat pumps, and send commands to them remotely.
This will give AEM greater control of its power distribution so that it can better balance the use of electricity on the network.
With greater control and a more balanced distribution, AEM should be able to reduce the management costs of its network and, therefore, reduce overall costs to customers.
The companies hope to complete this trial so that the technology is operation in the coming months.
Related: 10 real-life examples of IoT powering the future of energy
Smart Urban Network
The agreement also covers the creation of a Smart Urban Network.
This will involve connecting already operational public services to the Internet to make them ‘smart’, as well as the design of new applications for the management of areas such as parking and traffic surveillance, and the creation of a new Wi-Fi network with content for citizens to search-through via a city-application.
Details about this project are vague, but Paradox Engineering said it will be developed alongside local governments in the Massagno, Switzerland, area, in response to the growing needs of local people and businesses.
The design of the Smart Urban Network will begin in February 2017, with the aim of making operational by the summer.
Gianni Minetti, president and CEO of Paradox Engineering said of the deal: “The Smart Urban Network we are planning will allow for a single, reliable and secure network platform with which to manage all communication flows and data that are needed to dispense any public service in the entire Massagnese territory.
Related: Smart energy for smart cities technology revenue to reach $20.9 Billion in 2024
Self-healing Smart Grids
Paradox and AEM are not the only companies experimenting with IoT in the smart grid, however.
Florida-based electric power holding company Duke Energy claims it has created a self-healing grid system to automatically reconfigure itself when you lose power in the home.
It says the electrical system has the capacity to automatically detect, isolate, and reroute power when a problem occurs.
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