A Technical Review on Solar-Net metering

Harjeet Singh Bedi Nirbhowjap Singh Mukesh Singh

Department of Electrical and
Instrumentation Engineering
Thapar University
Patiala, Punjab 147003
Email: harjeet.bedi.thapar@gmail.com
Department of Electrical and
Instrumentation Engineering
Thapar University
Patiala, Punjab 147003
Email:nirbhow@gmail.com
Department of Electrical and
Instrumentation Engineering
Thapar University
Patiala, Punjab 147003
Email:mukesh.singh@thapar.edu

Abstract—The electrical infrastructure of India is increasing

at a very fast rate, causing overstressed electrical network. This
indeed has become the national concern. Hence, a need is emerged

to develop a secure and reliable network which can reduce stress 


on the existing network. Also, it should be able to improve the 
 
quality of power supplied to the customers. In context to this,
a term Smart Grid (SG) is evolved. SG is incorporated with


features like Advance Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and control
techniques to achieve adaptability, self-healing and reliability
of power systems. However, the AMI is one of the important
components of the SG in which bidirectional communication
is maintained with the consumer smart meter and utility grid.
The paper discusses the net metering(NM) as the world wide
used application with the integration of renewable resources.
The detailed architecture of net meter has been presented.
Moreover, an algorithm is also discussed to present the working
of bidirectional meter. In the end, a comparative analysis has
been done between the conventional gross metering and the net
metering.
Index Terms—Smart meter, Net Metering, bi-directional me-
ters, Smart Grid, AMI, Power System
I. I NTRODUCTION
The growing electrical infrastructure has led to the rapid
variation in demand in our power system(PS) network. This
has caused our PS network to be overstressed. Moreover, the
electrical infrastructure has become prone to new problems
like blackouts, rapid faults, demand variation, etc. Hence, a
need has emerged to build an intelligent and reliable electrical
network which can reduce the stress on existing system.
In context to that, a term Smart Grid(SG) [1], has been
introduced. According to IEEE, SG is ’system of systems’
where each function domain consists of three layers- Power
and energy layer, communication layer, IT/ Computer layer.
Another definition given by NIST, USA defines SG as a
modernized grid that allows bi-directional flow of energy and
uses two- way communication and control capabilities that will
lead to an array of new functionalities and applications. SG
includes bidirectional digital communication technology to the
devices associated throughout the grid. This is possible with
the use of intelligent devices like Smart Meters(SM), so as to
balance the production and consumption of power at all levels.
Moreover, SG offers an interactive environment [2] with the
utility and the consumer which helps in implementing policies
like time-pricing, peak load shaving, load forecasting, billing
formulation, outage management etc. SG is incorporated with
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Figure 1: Block diagram of AMI
advantages of adaptability to new environments, self-healing,
self recovery from faults, reliablity of supply etc. It enables the
online monitoring of consumers load pattern which helps to
understand the peak load demands, detect tampering of energy
meters, faults on the line. Nowadays, the work is been done in
integration of renewable resources with the SG. [3] discusses
the technology focussed on creating SGs.
Advance Metering Infrastructure (AMI) [4],[5] is an impor-
tant component of SG. AMI provides consumers the infor-
mation they need to make intelligent decisions, the ability to
execute those decisions and a variety of choices leading to
substantial benefits they do not currently enjoy. Infact, AMI is
a technology which can be used to modernize existing power
system. AMI is used to measure, collect, store and analyze
the relevant data from the SM connected to the SG network.
The basic idea of AMI includes the exchange of information
from consumer end and utility end via AMI interface and
communication protocol. The technology options for AMI
include smart meters, communication infrastructure, Meter
Data Management Systems (MDMS) [6]. It can be said that
AMI is a fully integrated infrastructure that is ready to be
integrated with the existing and new utility processes and
application. In the recent years, in metering technologies, the
manual and automated meter reading has been replaced by
AMI. With AMI it is possible to control the load at consumer
end and thus helps in managing the load across area.
AMI is integrated with the use of smart devices like solid
state or hybrid meters which play a significant role in modern-
izing the existing PS network. Smart Metering has emerged
as a beautiful application over the existing system. The use
of SM outdated the old manual metering and automated
 meter reading(AMR). This led to end the disputes raised by
customers like bill transparency and power quality problems.
Moreover, SM [7],[8] offers customers an two way interac-
tive module through which consumers are able to predict the
power consumed. Hence, they are able to know the energy
consumption after a short duration of time. This helps the
customer to manage the load accordingly and thus reducing
a stress during the peak times on the PS network. AMI with
the use of SM also include the use of smart thermostats, in-
home displays, appliance controllers etc. which contribute to
the smart utilization of power. The advantages of SM consists
of time based pricing, consumption data for cost and utility,
net metering, power loss notification, and many more. Out of
these applications the net metering can be seen as the most
efficient way to reduce stress on the economic value to the
consumer as well as power value on the utility.
The smart metering has succeeded in attaining attention
of most of the power sectors due to its unique features.
Nowadays, the net metering (NM) has become the important
component of smart metering. This paper presents the detailed
analysis of NM. The NM as the name suggests follows the
billing mechanism for the net units of power consumed by
the customer. The net units are calculated on the basis of
import and export of power between the customer and utility.
In this a scheme has been proposed using the bidirectional
energy meter. [9],[10] gives an brief insight about the NM at
national and international level. This paper also presents the
comparison of NM against the gross metering.
II. N ET M ETERING
The old metering system had many disadvantages like one
way communication, faulty bill estimation and etc. Conse-
quently, the evolution of Automated Meter Reading (AMR)
replaced old EM meters with the hybrid meters which only
provided the Billing and customers information. The data
[12] gives the brief description about the working of Solar-
net metering.Solar PV panels are installed at the rooftop of
consumers building. The DC energy available from the solar
panels is converted to the AC supply using Inverter (can be
a Grid Tied inverter). The consumer load is fed through this
available energy. The excess energy during the day can be sent
back to the grid. The bidirectional meter also known as net
meter keeps the record of energy transfer and calculates the net
units consumed by the consumer from the utility. Hence, the
consumers get charged for the net units consumed at the end
of billing period. [13] puts a light on scenario of net metering
in India.
If we do not use the NM, then we need a second meter
which to be installed at consumer end to measure the energy
sent back to the grid. In this way two meters will be needed
to measure the flow of energy in both directions. However this
problem can be resolved with use of net meters. Net meters are
capable of measuring the bidirectional flow of energy while
recording both import and export of energy.
In simple terminology, NM can be understood as a meter
which spins forwards when energy is taken from the utility and
spin backwards when energy is sent to the grid. Hence, the
net units are calculated. The billing credits are given on those
net units. NM allows the consumer to store excess energy on
the grid instead of storing in large batteries. Thus, it reduces
the cost of storing energy. Also, the energy can be used again
by the consumer whenever it is needed. Moreover, the utility
buys energy at very good price in case of peak demand thus
causing technical and economic benefit to both.
The use of NM with SG can result in great saving of energy
and money. Also, it can help in improving the power quality
which is frequent demand by the consumers. [14] discusses
the various net metering models according to the market point
of view.
recording was based on total consumption over a certain period 

rather than time based consumption. After that SG emerged
 



as a viable solution to all these problems which includes the 


 








customers participation in power system management. SM
under the section of AMI provided various facilities like Time
based pricing, remote control of smart appliances, prepaid 


 


energy usage, Power Quality monitoring, NM etc. 




This paper discusses the use of NM by integrating the

renewable energy sources with the SG or with the existing grid.
The consumer end is encouraged use solar PV panels to fulfill
the load of their buildings and using the supply from utility
grid as backup. Also, the customers get benefited with some
credits in their bill, if they offset some or all of the energy
back to the grid. This includes the use of bi-directional energy
meters which are capable of measuring the supply of from
both directions viz. consumer to utility and utility to consumer.
This scheme not only helps utility to manage the loads during
peak hours but also helps the consumers to contribute to the
power system indirectly. [11] explores the future scope of NM
thereby reducing the stress on the grid.
Figure 2: Block diagram of net metering
III. M ATHEMATICAL M ODELLING
Assume the power delivered by the PV panel is PP V and
consumer load demand is PLoad . The excess or deficit energy
is given by
ΔP = PP V -PLoad
if ΔP > 0, a signal is sent to the utility and power is fed
to the utility and if ΔP ≤0, a signal is sent to the utility and

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Figure 4: Block diagram of voltage front end
 
 



  
to DC by using full wave bridge rectifier. The DC coming out
 from the rectifier contains ripples.
  Iload

 Vripple =
(f ∗ C)
The output of the rectifier is pulsating DC which is filtered
Figure 3: Block diagram of net meter by L and C filter. Thus, with the use of large capacitor
the voltage ripple Vripple gets reduced and the pulsating DC
becomes almost constant.
power is fed from the utility. The net meter will calculate the The filtered DC is further stepped down by using potential
voltage Vi and current Ii at several intervals of time. divider.
The net energy used is calculated as: 100k
Vload = ∗ Vc
PP V = Vi . Ii . cosφ, where i is any time instant 100k + 470k
PU tility = Vk . Ik . cosφ, where k is any time instant The potential divider reduces the voltage to the level which
Pnet = PU tility - PP V can be fed to the ADC pin of the microcontroller.

This paper suggests the design of net meter which is capable

of recording and measuring the flow of of energy. With 

reference to, the net meter architecture consists of analog front
end, power supply and interface section. The basic architecture
of net meter is explained as following:

 


A. Analog front end
The analog front end is the component of net meter inter-
faced to the mains. The supply voltage of the meter is 230V
and maximum rated current is 10A, both of which are very
large to be fed to the microcontroller. Therefore, the respective Figure 5: Circuit design of voltage front end
voltage and current needs to be stepped down so that they can
be easily interfaced with the microcontroller. This is done with 2) Current front end: The current front end is used to step
the use of voltage sensing circuit and current sensing circuit, down the current to be fed to the microcontroller. The line
which are integral part of the analog front end. Moreover, current coming from the source is approximately upto 10A.
the conversion of physical quantities into digital quantities This current has to be stepped down in order to be fed into
are done in this part only. The analog front end converts the the electronic circuit. The current transformer of ratio 10:1
voltage and current to the voltages not more than 3V peak to is used in order to lower down the current. The rectifier is
peak. used to convert the alternating current into direct current. A
1) Voltage front end: The voltage front end conditions the small resistor of 100 ohms is used in series with rectifier. This
line voltage of 230V so that it could be interfaced with the resistor is also known as sensing resistor.
electronic circuit. The circuit design represents the principle
of converting the AC supply into DC supply using the full
bridge rectifier and then conditioning the DC supply. Hence,
the line voltage is converted to the voltage accepted by the
electronic circuit.
The voltage is stepped down using a potential transformer of
ratio of 230:9. Further, the stepped down voltage is converted

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 Algorithm 1 Algorithm on net metering

 1: Measure the values of IP V and VP V to calculate PV
 


 power PP V PP V = Vi . Ii . cosφ, where i is any time
instant
 
 2: Measure the values of Vutility and Iutility to calculate
utility power Putility Putility = Vutility . Iutility . cosφ,


 where k is any time instant.

3: Set the load of the building as PLoad = 2KW.
4: if PP V > PLoad then The supply is sent back to the grid
Figure 6: Block diagram of current front end and net meter displays ’reverse’
5: elsePP V ≤ PLoad The supply is received from the utility
grid and net meter displays ’forward’
The current is calculated via proportionate voltage drop 6: end if
across the sensing resistor. Ohm’s law states that V = I* 7: Check the above condition after 30 seconds. The net units
Rsense , where Rsense is the value of sensing resistor set at of power is calculated as:
100 ohm. Hence, the current proportional to voltage can be
Pnet = PP V - Putility
measured in order to calculate power flow through the energy
meter.

V. R ESULTS


The graph in Fig. 8 indicates the conventional gross me-

tering consumption for a period of 12 months. The results

 are plotted for net metering consumption in Fig. 9. These


results indicate by how much the unit consumption can be
reduced consequently minimizing the electricity bill. The solar
PV generation is assumed to be 1000 KWh/month.k

Figure 7: Circuit diagram of current front end

B. Power supply
The net meter needs to be connected with the some source
of supply. This is necessary to provide supply to various
electronic components at different frequencies. Hence, the
supply voltage 230V is stepped down and passed through a
conditioning circuit which provide supply voltage less than 5V
for bidirectional meter.
C. Microcontroller
Figure 8: A gross metering consumption graph
This is important component of net meter. It is the one
who performs various operations like arithmetic and logical
operations. The conditions are fed to the controller and it
calculates the net units consumed by the consumer.
It is a user interfaced device so as to provide a bidirec-
tional communication between the utility and consumer. The
bidirectional communication is provided with the help of a
communication protocol like Zigbee, UART, etc. However, it
also maintain a secure communication between the utility and
consumer.
IV. A LGORITHM FOR N ET M ETERING
This section explains the working of net meter in calculating
the net power exchange between the utility and consumer. The
algorithm takes the values from solar meter and bidirectional Figure 9: A net metering consumption graph
meter. The values are used to calculate the solar power PP V
and utility power Putility .

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 [12] PEDA(Punjab Energy Development Agency) Working of Net Metering
url: http://solarpunjab.com/how-does-it-work.html, 2016.
[13] bijlibachao Net Metering url: https://www.bijlibachao.com/using-
renewables/net-metering-policy-for-roof-top-pvs-in-various-states-in-
india.html, 2016.
[14] J. Thakur and B. Chakraborty Smart net metering models for smart grid
in India, pp.333-338, 2015.

Figure 10: Comparison between net metering and gross me-

tering consumption

Fig.10 represents the comparison between net metering and

gross metering consumption indicating the benefits of net
metering. The results has been derived by assuming the data.
However, the paper has tried to accomplish to provide basic
understanding of net metering.

VI. C ONCLUSIONS
This paper presented a brief concept about the NM. Fur-
ther, the benefits are discussed among the convention gross
metering. Later on, an initial architecture for net metering has
been represented. The process of designing the smart meter for
bidirectional operation is in progress. An algorithm is men-
tioned to understand the working of the bidirectional meter.
Further, the future scope includes the design of bidirectional
meter which can used to measure power quality and monitor
the flow of power on the line.

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