Smart Meters in Smart Grid: An Overview

Smart meter is one of the most important devices used in the smart grid (SG). The smart meter is an advanced energy meter that obtains information from the end users´ load devices and measures the energy consumption of the consumers and then provides added information to the utility company and/or system operator. Several sensors and control devices, supported by dedicated communication infrastructure, are utilized in a smart meter. This paper outlines some smart meter´s aspects and functions of smart meter. In addition, it introduces two basic types of smart meter system´s communication technologies: Radio Frequency (RF) and Power Line Carrier (PLC) and recent advances with regard to these two technologies. This paper also presents different policy and current status as well as future projects and objectives of SG development in several countries. Finally, the paper compares some main aspects about latest products of smart meter from different companies.