Smart Grid standard proposed, open for comment

A proposed standard by ASHRAE and NEMA to create smart facilities supporting a national Smart Grid effort is open for public comment.

July 30, 2012

ASHRAE and the National Electrical Manufacturers Assn. (NEMA) are jointly developing Standard 201P, Facility Smart Grid Information Model, which would provide a common basis for electrical energy consumers to describe, manage, and communicate about electrical energy consumptions and forecasts.

The proposed standard is open for an advisory public review until Sept. 3, 2012. To read the draft standard or to submit comments, click here.

Proposed Standard 201P would define an object-oriented information model to enable appliances and control systems in homes, buildings, and industrial facilities to manage electrical loads and generation sources in response to communication with the smart electrical grid and to communicate information about those electrical loads to utility and other electrical service providers.

The standard is part of ASHRAE’s supporting efforts for the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel, a public-private partnership initiated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to speed development of interoperability and cyber security standards for a nationwide smart electric power grid.

The proposed ASHRAE/NEMA standard will coordinate with work by the North American Energy Standards Board to develop a basic energy usage data model standard and create a facilities data model that provides additional energy usage data elements for commercial and industrial buildings. This includes lighting, heating, HVAC/R, and other electrical loads.