Wesley's Tool-Box

My home isn't particularly wasteful when it comes to electricity spending - it rarely exceeds 200kWh per month except for hot summer months. Still, I wanted to see the real-time usage to make further optimizations. After browsing through myriads of metering solutions, both domestic and abroad, I settled on a particular product sold by Seojun Electric.

Officially called "Smart Power & Charge Meter" model SJPM-B70 (I'll simply refer to it as "smart meter" hereafter), it connects to the main power line going through the primary circuit breaker inside the house. Once installed, it constantly measures and stores the power consumption data. This can then be accessed in real time by a smartphone via Bluetooth technology.


The main thing going for this product is its cost and simplicity. It only costs KRW 42,000 (US$35) online, not much more than the power monitors you plug into an outlet. And you merely need to hook the sensor and the power plug into the right place to get it working - no further maintenance required. Instructions on how to do that are shown with diagrams in the included guide.

You also don't need to sign up for anything as the data stays in your house, fully under your control. As I don't need to have my consumption data shared and analyzed over the internet cloud, this was actually a plus for me. And in case you wanted to show that you have this smart meter installed, the package provides two blue stickers to let you do just that.

The New EMS (Energy Management System), based on the Korean EMS Development Project (developed in 2005 - 2010), became online as the main unit at KPX's new Naju headquarters as of 3PM, October 6, 2014. This marks the first time that the entire Korean power grid was controlled by a system entirely based on the Korean technologies.

I've participated in the Korean EMS project and the succeeding New Power IT project that included the New EMS from 2006 to 2013. So this event is momentous both on national and personal levels. My name is listed as one of the developers on the commemorative plaque.

As the summer and winter peak demands for electricity in Korea get precariously close to the available supply capability in the recent years, KPX has been operating a contingency plan situation room for power shortage. To sharpen the skills of the people who man the stations, routine emergency drills are carried out, like this one today.

Since I'm one of those people, I participated, practicing all the things that I need to do in each alert level. The fast pace of the exercise reminded me that being calm, prompt, and accurate was crucial. Winter will soon be upon us, but we're ready to deal with what it'll throw at us.

Power supply/demand situation is getting a bit tight in Korea this year - there's this unusually hot weather coming up, and several large nuclear plants got shut down due to faulty parts being put into due to corruption.

As a result, power grid situation room is up and running early, and I'm taking part in the operation. This means I'll be showing up in the news broadcasts a few times throughout this summer. Yesterday saw some significant coverage from the media, and here are the results.

TV:
KBS News 9, May 30, 2013 (#1)
KBS News 9, May 30, 2013 (#2)
SBS 8 News, May 30, 2013
YTN News, 4PM, May 30, 2013

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