Glossary

DER: Distributed Energy Resources: Controllable load and micro-generation.
Flexibility: The commodification of the ability to adjust demand or generation dynamically in response to external signals or information.
Transactive Energy: Control of DER is distributed, autonomous, and price led.
SOA: Service Orientated Architecture
VTN: Virtual Top Node: as defined in OpenADR, any software component acting as a control server providing certain defined services to VEN clients.
VEN: Virtual End Node: as defined in OpenADR, a software client communicating with a VTN.
OpenADR: Open Automated Demand Response is a research and standards development effort for energy management led by North American research labs and companies. The typical use is to send information and signals to cause electrical power-using devices to be turned off during periods of high demand.
SGAM: Smart Grid Architecture Model: A framework for describing smart grid architectures, primarily used in Europe.
USEF: Universal Smart Energy Framework Universal Smart Energy Framework - Universal Smart Energy Framework
HEMS: Home Energy Management System: A generic term used to refer to a device or multiple devices forming a system which manages the operation of energy-related assets and appliances in a domestic setting.
HAN: Home Area Network: A generic term used
DNO: Distribution Network Operators: The actor in European electricity markets which is repsonsible for the management of the lower voltage distribution network which provides electricity connections to homes and commercial premises.
DSO: Distribution System Operators: A new term used to describe the expanded role of current DNO in the future smart grid where they assume more responsibility for ensuring balancing and other system priorities through control of assets on the low voltage distribution network.
UKPN: UK Power Networks The DNO for the South East and East of England and London.
ENW: Electricity North West The DNO for the North West of England
TRL: Technology Readiness Level: a concept used in European policy making to capture the technological maturity of commercial products and services.
MQTT: Messaging Queuing Telemetry Transport - a publish / subscribe based messaging protocol MQTT is a widely adopted, lightweight messaging protocol designed for constrained devices. For more information, see MQTT.
CAD: Consumer Access Device: a hardware component which bridges a home network and local Zigbee HAN to provide access to UK smart meters. Is capable of high resolution reads of meter registers.
DRMS: Demand Response Management System: A generic term often used in North America to describe the control plane of a demand side response system.
SBC: A single board computer. Typically a low powered, inexpensive, and usually ARM-based computer which provides a CPU, memory, networking, and a range of peripherals on a small PCB. Popularised by the Raspberry Pi range of products.
balenaOS: An open source operating system developed by balena.io which is aimed at providing a managed IoT platform which simplifies the deployment of applications using Docker containers.
OpenDSR: Carbon Co-op have secured funding from the UK government and others to support the development of a technical system for automated demand side response of EV chargers, electric heating systems, and smart appliances based on existing commercially available open source technologies. Starting in the first quarter of 2019, this project will see smart technologies- electric vehicle chargers and hot water heaters – installed in our members homes and social housing properties across the North West and the prospect of incentive payments for allowing their smart equipment to be used for supporting the operation of the electricity grid. The project is supporting the development of the PowerShaper service which will enable our members to help run the electricity grid by allowing us to control appliances in their homes in a non-disruptive and largely automated fashion. The project builds on a series of feasibility studies on local flexibility markets and domestic demand side response, carried out for BEIS in 2018.
PowerShaper: The demand side response service and branding being developed by Carbon Co-op. Initially developed under the OpenDSR project.
Home Assistant: An open source home automation project - https://home-assistant.io