Development of a Scalable Smart Meter Data Collection and Analytics Platform for Home Energy Optimization

Utilities

Business services

Identifying Challenges in Managing Diverse Energy Meter Data and Ensuring Regulatory Compliance

The client faces difficulties in collecting, integrating, and analyzing household energy consumption data from meters based on different protocols, while ensuring compliance with industry-specific regulations. This hampers their ability to provide accurate insights and responsive energy management solutions to customers and regulators.

About the Client

A mid to large-sized utility company specializing in energy management and home automation solutions, aiming to enhance energy efficiency and regulatory compliance.

Goals for Building an Scalable, Regulatory-Compliant Energy Data Platform

Develop a modular and scalable software platform capable of customizing to different customer needs and meter types.
Ensure seamless integration with diverse household energy meters and external IT systems such as ERP platforms.
Implement secure data collection, processing, analysis, and visualization mechanisms to support user decision-making.
Achieve rapid deployment cycles through CI/CD practices, improving time-to-market.
Meet all relevant regulatory standards and maintain high standards of data security and reliability.

Core Functionalities for Household Energy Data Management and Visualization System

Modular Data Collection Layer supporting various household metering protocols.
Data analysis dashboard providing interactive, intuitive visualizations for end-users to monitor and optimize energy usage.
Customizable user interfaces tailored to specific customer needs.
Secure data storage with robust access controls and compliance with legal standards.
API and middleware components enabling smooth integration with external systems like ERP platforms.
Automated testing and deployment pipelines to facilitate continuous development.

Preferred Technologies and Architectural Approaches for Development

Cloud-based infrastructure leveraging scalable platforms (e.g., cloud providers supporting microservices architecture).

Modern front-end frameworks such as Vue.js or equivalent for responsive UI development.

Backend technologies like PHP and Laravel or comparable frameworks for robust backend services.

Containerization tools such as Docker and Kubernetes for deployment automation and scalability.

Terraform for infrastructure as code and resource management.

External System Integrations Necessary for Seamless Data Flow

Household energy meters supporting multiple communication protocols via custom connectors.
ERP and other enterprise systems for data synchronization and processing.
External regulatory data repositories and compliance verification systems.

Non-Functional Requirements Ensuring System Reliability and Performance

System scalability to handle increasing data volumes from thousands of meters.
High security standards compliant with industry regulations for data protection and privacy.
Reliable data transmission with minimal latency.
System uptime and availability targets of 99.9%.
Performance optimization to support real-time data analysis and visualization.

Anticipated Business Benefits of Implementing the Data Management Platform

The new platform is expected to enable the client to efficiently collect and analyze household energy consumption data, leading to improved energy efficiency, reduced operational costs, and enhanced regulatory compliance. It aims to facilitate proactive energy management, empower end-users with actionable insights, and accelerate deployment cycles through automated CI/CD pipelines, ultimately supporting the client's strategic growth in digital energy solutions.