Monitoring and visualising a neighbourhood area sub-grid

In this paper we analyse the architecture and technologies for monitoring the Neighbourhood Area Network (NAN) of the Smart Grid. We consider the role of sensor networks in providing information about the environment of the NAN, for example to monitor temperature and movement of vehicles and people, which can provide useful information about changes in the loading of the NAN. The two main contributions of this research are as follows. Firstly, we develop a software architecture for an ICT network of the Smart Grid which could integrate information from sensors from various levels of the grid. Currently no such architecture has been implemented for collecting data and providing the basis of Decision Support Tools (DSTs) for the NAN level of the grid. Secondly, we have developed a visualisation interface for the human operator of the grid, as the basis for such DSTs, which overlays the information from the sensors and the measurements of the electrical performance of the NAN on a GIS-based view of the NAN. We describe an actual implementation of this design currently being installed in the sub-Grid supplying the University of Manchester which is of comparable size and complexity to urban NANs.