Beyond the Meter Energy

The volume of IoT-connected residential and commercial products has grown exponentially in the last few years, driving the demand for reliable, cost effective IoT connectivity to manage assets at the edge of the network or Beyond the Meter.

What is Beyond the Meter Energy?

Beyond the meter is a term that encompasses applications which generate, store or manage the consumption of energy in either residential or commercial premises. This covers a wide range of energy solutions, including everything from electric vehicle (EV) charging and solar panels to submetering and energy storage.

For electrical vehicle chargers, Berg Insight predicts that by the end of 2024 the number of EV charging points in Europe will soar from 7.8m to 26.3m – more than trebling the number of units being available in just one year.

When it comes to solar panels, the market has continued to shine. In 2023, solar grew 40% in one year, with the expectation that it will continue to grow yearly at a healthy rate.

In order to drive benefits and optimise energy consumption in the most efficient way, IoT connectivity is integrated into the applications – enabling communication between the grid and distributed energy resources. As a result, households and businesses can monitor the use in real-time – enabling them to optimise their output, minimise waste and consume energy in the most cost-efficient way.

What role does IoT play?

Incorporating cellular IoT connectivity means businesses will benefit from accessing near real-time data. This can play a crucial role in business operations – especially when it comes to making quick and informed decisions. With instant data at companies’ fingertips, they can implement dynamic real-time pricing models like time-of-use pricing.

Managed IoT services, such as Vodafone Business’ Managed IoT Connectivity platform, can also assist customers in carrying out a wide range of tasks, including notifying them of faults, alerting them to a security issues, enhancing system operations and providing customer analytics. They can benefit from the technology by scheduling off-peak times to use electricity or recharge solar batteries, report export or consumption levels for financial reporting, and can notify you of export constraints when supply exceeds demand.

The use of IoT also allows customers to conduct over-the-air software updates – which is particularly beneficial for applications that are hard to access.

Furthermore, the integration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and sensor-based intelligence at the edge of the grid has accelerated the adoption of utility assets connected to an IoT network. These technologies enhance data analytics, provide predictive maintenance and boosts overall performance.

The future of IoT has never been more exciting, so why not find out more about how Vodafone Business IoT can help your business.