Smart grid chips integrate functions as meter vendors aim for standards

Freescale has fleshed out its smart power meter IC family with its announcement of the MC9S08GW64, which integrates gas and water metering functions. The chip, based on an 8-bit S08 core, includes an electricity metering analog front end with two independent 16-bit SAR ADCs and a programmable delay block for phase error compensation. The device joins Freescale’s existing smart meter chips: The MCF51EM256, based on a 32-bit Coldfire V1 MCU core, for single and three-phase electricity meters, and the MC9S08LH64, also based on the S08 core, for low-cost single phase electricity meters. Freescale goes beyond the usual reference design to provide complete multiple designs down to the CAD drawing for plastic enclosure: Customers can leave all of the design to Freescale and customize only the meter’s software.

Freescale is not alone in its push to integrate as much capability as possible into its metering chips. Accent announced last month an SOC platform for smart metering designs that the company claims allows a customized version of a smart meter SOC with a turn-around time of months rather than over a year for a conventional custom SOC. Analog Devices, Teridian,  and Texas Instruments also have highly-integrated smart meter chips.

So far manufacturers have tended to prefer discrete microcontroller-based smart meter designs — especially in Asia, a significant market for smart meters. One reason has been the lack of industry standards. An association of three metering companies, Itron, Landis+Gyr and Iskraemeco, announced the formation of  Interoperability Device Interface Specifications Industry Association, IDIS, to “develop, maintain and promote publicly available technical interoperability specifications based on open standards and supports their use in interoperable products.”  IDIS is based in Zug, Switzerland.