Freescale Semiconductor announced a smart meter reference design, demonstrated during Embedded World, March 1-3, 2011 in Nuremberg, Germany. The reference design, featured as part of Freescale’s Smart Energy Wall display, provides a high-performance solution for power measurement in single-phase, two-wire installations targeted at the residential metering market.
The 32-bit Kinetis MK30X256 MCU at the heart of the MK30X reference design is based on the ARM® Cortex(TM)-M4 core. This powerful core’s effective support of 32-bit math enables fast Fourier transform (FFT) based metering algorithms, which calculate metering quantities from elementary voltage and current harmonics. This calculation approach results in the precise accuracy of the reactive energy, as compared to other known metering algorithms.
The MK30X reference design includes a 128-bit unique identification and FlexMemory that provides every meter with an individual identifier and tamper detection. Firmware based on an MQX(TM) real-time operating system enables customers to design electricity meters based on their unique requirements and is well-suited for use in advanced markets.
Customisation is available using the built-in LCD, which provides the standard metering values. The designer can choose any of the measured values by clicking on the device’s built-in buttons. The designer is also able to choose from several types of communication interfaces for remote collection of data. One option is connection to a ZigBee® network via an I2C interface, meaning the meter can easily be enabled as part of a smart grid network. The meter is also able to connect outside of the home via SCI/SPI for last-mile communication.
www.freescale.com/smartenergy