Smart Meter Attestation for Verifiable Power Sustainability Data
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current power grid monitoring systems lack the ability to reliably verify sustainability metrics, such as carbon emissions, which hinders decision-making and efficiency in energy consumption, as data is often unreliable and does not provide sufficient insight into the source of power, leading to hesitation in executing decisions based on questionable data.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a system with smart meters and microgrid leads that utilize confidential computing techniques to process and attest power source data, allowing energy-consuming devices to adjust their consumption based on verified sustainability metrics, ensuring data integrity and trustworthiness through trusted execution environments and attestation methods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional power grid monitoring systems are used to track power source data, then data collection is simple and straightforward, but the reliability and trustworthiness of sustainability metrics is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a microgrid lead device as an intermediary between power sources and energy-consuming devices. This mediator collects power source data, generates sustainability metrics, and provides attested information to consumers, thereby enhancing reliability without requiring direct complex verification at each endpoint.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where sustainability metrics are continuously monitored, attested, and communicated back to energy-consuming devices. This feedback loop enables real-time verification and adjustment of power consumption based on verified sustainability data, improving overall system reliability.
2Productivity
If power source data is collected and used for decision-making, then energy efficiency can be improved, but the unreliability of data causes hesitation in executing decisions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical trust verification with cryptographic attestation mechanisms. The microgrid lead device cryptographically signs sustainability metrics, allowing energy-consuming devices to verify data authenticity through digital signatures rather than relying on unverified source data, thus enabling confident decision-making.
Solution Approach 2:
The microgrid lead acts as a trusted intermediary that verifies and attests to the authenticity of power source data before it reaches energy-consuming devices. This intermediary layer ensures data reliability, enabling efficient energy consumption decisions without hesitation.
3Measurement precision
If sustainability metrics are provided without verification, then data availability is high and decision-making is fast, but the accuracy and authenticity of the data cannot be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary attestation of sustainability metrics at the microgrid lead device before data reaches energy-consuming devices. By pre-verifying data authenticity through cryptographic signatures and preliminary checks, the system ensures measurement precision without requiring time-consuming verification at each consumption point.
Solution Approach 2:
The microgrid lead device creates verified copies of power source data with cryptographic attestation. These attested copies are distributed to energy-consuming devices, allowing fast access to accurate sustainability metrics without repeating the verification process at each endpoint.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for generating verifiable power line sustainability data are disclosed herein. In many embodiments, a device includes a processor, a memory commutatively coupled to the processor, a communication port coupled with a second device, and a smart meter logic configured to execute within a trusted execution environment. Power source data may be received through the communication port. The power source data may be processed such as attesting to the validity of the data through a trusted execution environment. The received power source data may be communicated to energy-consuming devices and formatted to allow the energy-consuming devices to adjust their energy consumption in response to a metric, such as a sustainability metric, within the power source data. Sustainability metrics can include a power source carbon footprint, greenhouse gas mix values, and/or other indicators. Power use decisions for energy-consuming devices can be made in response to these verified sustainability metrics.