What antennas must be able to do on smart meters - and where else they are indispensable
"The market is developing - more slowly than expected, but it is developing," says Dr. Michael Weber, Managing Director of Antennentechnik Bad Blankenburg, with a view to the smart meter roll-out in Germany. His company offers special services in this and other digital areas. According to Michael Weber, during the lockdown, Germany learned how important digitization is. The company sees itself in a good position, after all things only become smarter "if they are also networked".
They are equipping so-called smart meters with radio antennas - what are the technical challenges for smart meters from the perspective of antenna developers and antenna manufacturers?
The meter cabinets are often made of metal and are located in basement rooms surrounded by reinforced concrete walls and ceilings and often have no or only a very small basement window. This is a very unfavorable situation for a radio connection. Our antennas are therefore designed for a high range even under adverse conditions, thus enabling the best possible connectivity. Furthermore, in cooperation with the leading energy suppliers and the leading meter cabinet manufacturer Hager, we have jointly developed and designed special antennas for this purpose and for various installation situations: integrated in the meter cabinet, attached to the meter cabinet by means of adhesive strips or magnets or mounted on the basement window or outside. The objective is always: the effort for an installation must be as low as possible and may only be carried out once. The installation of the complex radio technology must be simple, fast and reliable for the people installing it. Replacing an already installed antenna whose signal does not arrive costs the operator time and money.
We have recognized that it is not enough to build only extremely powerful and reliable antennas. We help our partners to build up the necessary know-how to prepare the installation in the best possible way in their responsibility: we train the technicians of our partners, offer support material and stand by their side even in case of difficult challenges. We also realize special antenna developments on customer request.
By the way, this is also how our 450MHz antennas were developed. Even before the decision of the Federal Network Agency to make this frequency available to energy suppliers, customers who had made use of this frequency on a large scale in anticipation of the Federal Network Agency's decision. Together we have developed the appropriate antennas and are thus able to offer powerful 450MHz antennas "Made in Germany" to all utilities that rely on the advantages of this frequency. We are currently working with our customers on individual solutions that deliver optimal performance. We benefit from the fact that we have been developing professional antennas for the Smart City, Industry 4.0 and automotive industry for decades.
At the end of 2019, the third Smart Meter Gateway was certified, now in July the fourth, and other solutions are in the process of certification. How is the market developing from your perspective?
The market is developing - more slowly than expected, but it is developing. This is good news and has not always been the case, because the industry has been waiting for the roll-out for several years now. Of all things, shortly after the market release, Covid19 has again delayed the start of the roll-out for us. Now that we have gradually returned to a certain normality, demand is slowly picking up again. However, we are wondering how we will be able to complete the implementation on time within the legally regulated time frame if the installations continue at this pace. This will - let's say - be interesting and exciting for many companies.
In a survey in southern Germany, more than 2/3 of those surveyed said they had not yet heard of smart meters or intelligent measuring systems. How do you rate this and what could be done to increase awareness of these technologies?
Most of the discussions so far have been technical in nature. However, the benefits of digitization are hardly known among the general population. Instead, fears of data misuse and rising costs are being discussed. Creating transparency about this is important, but it is not conducive to acceptance. In our view, what is not communicated enough are the opportunities, advantages and benefits of digital consumption measurement for citizens.
At present, the future use of smart meters in Germany is only prescribed above a certain amount of electricity consumption - to what extent can the savings and optimization potential of smart meters be exploited?
The potential can only be partially exploited for citizens under the current regulations. Now that the roll-out has begun for large consumers of 6,000 kWh or more, we are talking about digitally networking all other consumers as well. Due to the increasing personal use of intelligent devices in the office, at home and in leisure time, the overall demand for electricity will rise. And so will the number of installations that are above the limit. Electromobility will also play an important role here. It is spreading more and more and is dependent on intelligent energy management.
Its full potential can only be exploited when it becomes more attractive for private customers, thus increasing the demand for smart energy supply. This requires innovative offers with clear added value and individualized, variable electricity tariffs. Until then, only the original mission will be implemented: to better cover the current electricity demand by real-time control of electricity production.
Finally, a visionary question: Which path do you think the digitalization of the energy market will take in the next few years and where do you see Antennentechnik Bad Blankenburg?
There is no stopping digitization, quite the contrary. In our opinion, it will continue to rise steeply in the first half of the year, based on our experience. During the lockdown, Germany has learned how important digitization is and is using these offerings more intensively than before. This can be seen in all areas of life. This is very good news for us. After all, digitization is also increasing the demand for wireless communication and thus the need for stationary and mobile communication units including antennas. Everything that rightly bears the attribute "smart" needs antennas: from kitchen appliances to sidewalk lanterns, from mobile homes to washing machines - everything only becomes smarter if they are networked. Some areas that still act independently of each other today will merge with each other.
Just think of intelligent traffic guidance systems, which in the course of the electrification of mobility will have to communicate with and among each other, including energy suppliers. ATBB recognized this early on and invested heavily in research and development of innovative solutions.
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