Smart meters are one of the best metering solutions to emerge recently. These electronically advanced connected devices help consumers make precious savings on their energy bills. Also, they help power utilities streamline their business through advanced functionality like grid balancing, automated billing, tampering protection, remote updates and customised energy plans. In India, many smart meter manufacturing companies provide these solutions with innovative features and unique designs.
If you are planning to install smart meters, these are a few tips that will help you select the right smart meter manufacturing company.
1. Educates and Provides Sound Consultation:
Smart meters are technological devices and you require a certain degree of specialised knowledge to deal with them. Your smart meter manufacturer should hand-hold you and provides you with all the necessary information to let you choose the right smart meter for your needs.
For instance, smart meters come in GISM (single-phase), GIST (three-phase) and GISS (heavy-duty usage) variants. Most utility companies will require all three for their diverse consumer base. Your smart meter manufacturer should guide you in this and help you order adequate quantities of each type.
2. Low-Power Model Support:
You should choose a manufacturer who supports low-power technology in their smart meters. This technology reduces energy consumption and is thus eco-friendly. Moreover, low-power smart meters last longer and require much less maintenance and upkeep.
3. Security Conscious:
Smart meters are connected devices based on many of the leading principles of IoT technology. As with most modern technology devices, the power of these smart meters lies more in their networking ability than in the stand-alone device per se.
While real-time data updates and notifications through 24×7 interconnectivity are a wonderful capability, they do bring in with them serious security threats. You should make sure your smart meter manufacturer is proactive about device and network security. They should use the latest algorithms and techniques to keep their devices secure. Even better, they should provide troubleshooting services in case a security breach occurs.
4. Regular Updates:
You should also check your smart meter manufacturer if he provides regular updates to device firmware remotely. With smart meter technology progressing at a rapid pace, you cannot sit back on your default installation. New features and new standards are being released all the time, and you need to make sure your manufacturer provides the necessary upgrades. It is especially relevant from a cyber-security point of view as black-hat hackers are always a step ahead of the cutting-edge in security technology.
5. Company Track Record and Reputation:
Being a knowledge-intensive industry, you should make sure that your smart meter manufacturer has the necessary acumen. Always do background checks about the company’s track record and whether it has procured standard industry certifications. Most leading smart meter manufacturers in India have an enviable company history with decades of proven expertise and success stories.
6. Ongoing Support
Smart meters are advanced devices. You would need your manufacturer to provide good support to handle maintenance and repair tasks with your installations. Make sure the company checks the right boxes in this aspect.
Smart meters are the future of power technology. They are gaining adoption at a brisk pace in almost all geographies around the world. With its huge electricity demand, India is also fast installing more of these smart meters. If you are a power company, procuring and installing good smart meters from a reputed manufacturer will greatly benefit your business.
