Your current scenario:

• Your HV and MV networks are fully automated, but you have no knowledge of what’s going on in the LV grid.
• Your existing substation equipment is outdated.
• You are losing energy, but cannot determine the exact location.
• You have no tools to predict the next power outage.
• You cannot monitor the power quality in your network.
• You are making connectivity changes in your LV network, but updating them to the control room is time consuming and tedious.
• You think adding intelligence in all your substations is too expensive.
• You rely on estimations and cannot accurately determine consumption at each major node.

We get your problems:

• You want to minimize blackouts in your LV network.
• You need to streamline operations and maintenance and be able to identify losses.

• For an automated LV network that you can monitor and control, we recommend these components:
• Smart meters in substations and, if desired, at lower nodes (e.g. feeders/distribution cabinets)
• Smart circuit breakers
• Communications modules for multiple carriers
• Interface devices
• Central server for data gathering, communication with end devices, central database, GUI and integration to other systems.
• PDA deployment tool

Intelligence throughout the low voltage power distribution network

StartGrid™ is a simple but powerful solution that gives you total control and automation of your entire low-voltage power distribution network.

The solution is based on AMI-enabled meters and switches at the various nodes within the low-voltage power network, all feeding back data to a central management platform to provide a complete overview of system efficiency and losses. Simple but amazingly effective.

Insight for the efficient city

With StartGrid™, you can analyze your low-voltage power network performance with complete circuit information such as voltage, current, power factor, etc. Use primary substation meter data to map your complete low-voltage system energy use (and loss) across all nodes. Energy savings is only the beginning.

Control for city utilities

Remotely operated circuit breakers provide earth fault, over current and short circuit protection tripping with a local control facility and alarm notification. Local intelligence lets you minimize blackouts and, when inevitable, confine them to the smallest possible area.

Uptime for municipal energy

Our advanced communication paradigm ensures high reliability and maximum uptime. And with local intelligence and data storage, StartGrid™ maintains state awareness and enables local decision-making even when communications go down.

The Amplex platform

Amplex StartGrid™ is deployed on a modular, carrier-neutral Amplex platform based on open standards. This powerful monitoring and management system helps utilities and municipalities run their systems in greener, smarter ways that pay for themselves by driving down costs.

StartGrid™ applications integrate through open interfaces with existing utility systems, including billing, GIS, work order and planning.

Amplex Integration

StartGrid™ integrates with the other Amplex solutions, GreenWise™ and MeterMind™, as well as your medium voltage power network management so all events are centralized and turned into actionable insight.

With added AMI-enabled meters at customer premises and intelligent streetlight systems, you gain valuable consumption and statistical data on the entire low-voltage power network, all in one command center. City utilities were never so smart.

Deploy to fit

StartGrid™ is fully flexible so you can install intelligence exactly where it is needed – from the most critical low-voltage substations to the entire LV power distribution grid. Many clients deploy at the substation or feeder pillar level, then complement these with selected lower nodes when they need a full overview.

Start city energy savings now with an advanced metering infrastructure throughout the low-voltage power distribution system that will give you insight, control and energy savings.

StartGrid™ lets you monitor power distribution in real time and respond quickly and accurately to faults and losses.

• Get total low-voltage network visibility through advanced metering infrastructure at every node
• Monitor transformers, power quality and load in real time
• Identify and correct power losses and non-revenue power consumption quickly and easily
• Protect and control the power network with remote controlled, multi-functional circuit breakers and robust local intelligence
• Minimize unplanned outages and ensure optimum power network configuration
• Monitor all power distribution network systems – medium- and low-voltage distribution networks, AMI and streetlights – all from an integrated control room
• Reduce overall customer supply downtime with improved network switching
• Respond quickly and accurately to incidents with a single monitoring point for all alarms
• Improve performance and asset use with advanced power network analysis and planning insight
• Use the webcam to review photos from on-site and receive immediate alarms if motion is detected.

The components: modular means flexible

StartGrid™ is a modular system that combines:

• Advanced metering infrastructure for transformers, control cabinets and service turrets
• Remote control of circuit breakers
• Loss and balancing calculations throughout the entire power distribution network
• Alarms, status and electrical values in meters and circuit breakers
• Control room with control and monitoring facilities

Amplex Communication Platform

StartGrid™ connects all low-voltage power distribution assets into a full, two-way IPv6 network, including:

• Low-voltage feeder pillars
• Low-voltage service cabinets
• Streetlight poles and control cabinets
• Consumer power meters
• Household equipment

The StartGrid™ device management system includes:

• Plug-and-play deployment and remote upgradeability
• Operational management including status, reports, statistics, history, logging and traceability
• Configuration management including version, structure and components management

A turnkey solution

StartGrid™ is a complete, turn-key solution that is field-proven and backed by a precise, proven deployment methodology.

With its modular structure, StartGrid™ is easy to configure according to the needs of each deployment.