TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to electrical power meters and their features at

power supply locations. More particularly, the invention relates to a

method and a data collecting arrangement for collecting data about an electric power supply location as well as to. a method for collecting data about an electric power supply location.

BACKGROUND

Electric power meters have lately started to become "intelligent" in that they may report measurements of the electricity consumption of a

consumer to an energy supplier or utility company. In doing so a meter will have to contain communication capabilities according to at least one communication standard. It thus has to be remotely accessible. This means that, when implementing this capability, the power meter infrastructure has to be modernized.

When modernizing the power meter infrastructure of whole countries or parts of countries, the utility companies or assigned third parties (from now on referred only as "third parties") need to design and roll out the new infrastructure of remotely accessible meters. The utility companies or third parties then face the problem of specifying the architecture of the solution as well as certain parameters of the deployment that affect both the capital expenses (CAPEX) as well as operational expenses (OPEX) of the remote metering infrastructure. The main parameters are a) the communication technology that the meter includes for making the power meter data

remotely available, b) , communication technology provider and c) the power meter vendor. Typically most of the meter vendors offer the same meter platform with customizable communication modules e.g. Power Line Communication (PLC) or mobile communication network or short- range technologies (e.g. ZigBee) to accommodate for the differences in the physical placement of the meters. Moreover a power meter may include more than one communication technology module when deployed; during operations one or more communication technology module maybe active at a time. In addition, if a power meter infrastructure designer choses a mobile- network-enabled power meter the designer also needs to further choose the mobile network operator that will carry the meter data if more than one is available in the meter infrastructure deployment area. Moreover certain communication technologies such as PLC are sensitive to interference from home devices/ appliances, which makes the choice of PLC costly to the designer company due to mainly the cost of

troubleshooting after roll-out.

The problem is that today these choices about the power meter vendor and the communication technology are made using power meter datasheets and mobile operator typical performance figures, which typically deviate from the real deployment performance figures. Moreover the PLC performance depends on the electric environment in which the meter is placed. This means that devices and appliances that are provided in a vicinity of the PLC communication will have a non-negligible influence, which is not possible to foresee in advance even if a potentially costly survey is performed in advance. The reason is that the home environment is dynamic with homeowners replacing home equipment all the time. There is thus a need for allowing better decisions to be made of the communication and metering capabilities to be implemented for a power meter. SUMMARY

The invention relates to electrical power meters and their features at power supply locations. Power meter features may in this regard include communication technologies, products and architectures for transmission of the data measured by these meters to a utility company that deployed the meters. One object of the invention is therefore to simplify the selection of power metering architecture and communications technique for power meters.

This object is according to a first aspect achieved by a data collecting arrangement for collecting data about an electric power supply location where the data collecting arrangement comprises:

a data collecting device comprising

at least one electric power quality measurement unit,

a power supply connector,

at least one data communication unit, and

a processor and a memory.

The memory contains instructions executable by the processor whereby the data collecting device is operative to

upon the power supply connector being connected to a power supply at the power supply location,

measure, using the at least one electric power quality measurement unit, electric properties of the power supply,

receive signals via the at least one data communication unit,

determine, via the at least one data communication unit, the signal quality of the received signals, and

provide the electric property measurements and signal quality

determinations for analysis by an analysing unit. This object is according to a second aspect achieved by a method for collecting data about an electric power supply location. The method is performed at a data collecting location by a data collecting arrangement that comprises at least one data communication unit. The method comprising:

upon a power supply connector being connected to a power supply at the power supply location,

measuring, using at least one electric power quality measurement unit, electric properties of the power supply,

receiving signals via the at least one data communication unit,

determining, via the at least one data communication unit, the signal quality of the received signals, and

providing the electric property measurements and signal quality determinations for analysis by an analysing unit.

At least one data communication unit may provide at least one

communication path between the data collecting device and a data concentrator device at a data receiving location.

In one variation of the first aspect, the data collecting device, when being operative to receive signals, is then operative to receive signals via the at least one communication path. In a corresponding variation of the second aspect, the method then comprises receiving signals via said at least one communication path.

In another variation of the first aspect, the data collecting device is further operative to transmit data to the data concentrator device via the at least one data communication unit and the at least one communication path in order to allow signal quality determinations to be made by the data concentrator device. In this case the data collecting arrangement may also comprise the data concentrator device.

In a corresponding variation of the second aspect, the method comprises transmitting, via the at least one data communication unit, data over the at least one communication path to a data concentrator device at the data receiving location. Here it is also possible that the data concentrator device determines the signal quality of these data transmissions. In yet another variation of the first aspect, the data collecting arrangement further comprises an analysing unit that analyses the power supply property measurements and the signal quality determinations and determines a suitable power meter and data communication unit to be used at the power supply location based on the analysis.

In a corresponding variation of the second aspect, the method further comprises analysing the power supply property measurements and the signal quality determinations and determining a suitable power meter and data communication unit to be used at the power supply location based on the analysis.

There may be different types of data communication units, where the types may be types using different communication standards. In a variation of the first aspect the analysing unit may when determining a suitable data communication determine a type of data communication unit.

In a corresponding variation of the second aspect, the determining of a suitable data communication unit may comprise determining a type of data communication unit. The at least one data communication unit may comprise at least one wireless communication module. The at least one wireless communication module may furthermore comprise at least one mobile communication module operative to communicate with at least two different mobile communication networks.

In a further variation of the first aspect, the analysing unit may be further configured to select a mobile communication network based on the analysis of the signal quality in respect of all mobile communication networks.

In a corresponding variation of the second aspect, the method further comprises selecting a mobile communication network based on the analysis of the signal quality in respect of all mobile communication networks.

There may also be at least two mobile communication modules.

In yet another variation of the first aspect, the analysing unit is configured to select a mobile communication module based on the analysis.

In a corresponding variation of the second aspect, the determining of a data communication unit comprises selecting a mobile communication module based on the analysis.

The at least one wireless communication unit may also comprise at least one short-range communication module.

In yet another variation of the first aspect, the analysing unit is then configured to select a short-range communication module based on the analysis. In a corresponding variation of the second aspect, the determining of a data communication unit comprises selecting a short-range

communication module based on the analysis. The at least one data communication unit may also comprise at least one power line communication module combined with corresponding electric power quality measurement units.

In another variation of the first aspect, the analysing unit is configured to select a power line communication module based on the analysis.

In a corresponding variation of the second aspect, the determining of a data communication unit comprises selecting a short-range

communication module based on the analysis.

In yet another variation the signal qualities are determined periodically as are the performing of the measurements.

The invention has a number of advantages. It allows the signal quality and electric property measurements to be used when deciding power measurement reporting infrastructure. This allows better decisions to be made about the infrastructure before rollout and avoids costly changes later. It should be emphasized that the term "comprises/comprising" when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in more detail in relation to the enclosed drawings, in which: fig. l schematically shows a data collecting device placed adjacent a power meter and two pieces of electric appliances,

fig.2 shows a block schematic of a data collecting manager unit of the data collecting device,

fig. 3 shows a number of power meters placed in two different types of environments, where each power meter communicates with a power meter handler via a mobile network and the Internet,

fig. 4 shows a number of power meters placed in two types of

environments, which meters communicate with the power meter handler via a concentrator device, a mobile network and the Internet,

fig. 5 shows a flow chart of a number of method steps being performed in a first variation of a method of collecting data about an electric power supply location, and

fig. 6 shows a signal diagram with signals exchanged between an analysing unit, the concentrator and the data collecting device for use in a second variation of a method of collecting data about an electric power supply location.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth such as particular architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc. in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced in other embodiments that depart from these specific details. In other instances, detailed descriptions of well-known devices, circuits and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the invention with unnecessary detail.

The invention is generally directed to the deployment of power meters, such as energy meters or electric consumption meters, and power meter communication capabilities in various environments where power metering is to be performed and reported.

Fig. l schematically shows a power meter 26 that is provided at a power supply location, i.e. a location where power is to be supplied, for instance in relation to a household or a enterprise. Later a few different examples of power supply locations will be given. The power meter 26 is connected to two pieces of electric appliances 30 and 31 through wiring 25, where an appliance may be any type of electrically powered appliance in a household or in an enterprise, such as a television set, a refrigerator, a washing machine etc. The number of appliances/devices connected through the wiring 25 to the meter 26 is not limited to two. One power meter is also connected through electricity wires to an electricity substation 28. A substation provides electricity to multiple houses or enterprises using electricity wires 27 which pass through the power meter 26 but the figure shows only one power meter in order to avoid cluttering. The substation 28 is in turn connected to the electricity grid with the electricity wire 29. At the power supply location there is also a power supply 24 connected to the wiring 25, which power supply 24 may be provided with an electric outlet. The power meter 26 has the purpose of metering the power or energy consumption at the power supply location, which energy consumption typically is the energy consumption of the different appliances 30 and 31 of the household or enterprise. Furthermore, as discussed above, the outlet and the various appliances are connected to the same power supply or electricity grid and because of this the various appliances will also provide disturbances to the electric signal carried by at least wires 25, and 27. This may have consequences on measurement process of the electrical energy and especially on some types of communication. The data collecting device 10 is provided for collecting data regarding the communication and power measurement capability at the location of interest. For this reason the data collecting device 10 is equipped with a power supply connector 12 for being connected to the electrical power supply 24.

In order to be able to collect data about the power measurement capability, the data collecting device is also equipped with an electric power quality measurement unit 17.

The data collecting device 10 also comprises at least one data

communication unit. A power meter (26) may have the ability to

communicate according to a number of different communication

technologies, such as wireless communication and power line

communication (PLC) where the electrical power supply network is used. In the field of wireless communication there may be mobile

communication, such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) or Long Term Evolution (LTE) provided according to the 3 ^rd Generation

Partnership Project (3GPP), or short-range communication such as

Bluetooth or Zigbee, KNX, MBUS, etc. For each of these types of

communication technology there may exist a corresponding type of data communication unit, i.e. a unit communicating according to the type of communication technology. For each data communication unit type there may also exist a number of different communication device suppliers, such as mobile communication equipment suppliers and short-range

communication equipment suppliers and PLC communication equipment suppliers. In the case of mobile communication, there may also exist a number of different operators each providing communication via a corresponding mobile communication network. The data collecting device 10 may therefore comprise a number of data communication units. The data communication units may here comprise wireless communication modules like short-range communication modules or mobile communication modules, but also other

communication units, such as PLC communication modules, which are all examples of different types of data communication units. The data collecting device 10 may therefore comprise a number K of short-range communication modules i8A ... i8K, where K maybe an integer and representing a number of different short-range communication module types, for instance related to vendor. There may also be N mobile communication modules 14A ... 14N, where there maybe a communication module for each possible communication module supplier and mobile network operator combination. It is here possible that one mobile communication module may be used in several mobile communication networks as well as only in a dedicated mobile communication network. There is finally a number M of PLC communication modules 16A ... 16M. Each PLC communication modules 16A ... 16M may comprise an electric power quality measurement unit. If this is the case, then the previously mentioned electric power quality measurement unit 17 may be omitted.

It can thus be seen that the data collecting device 10 may comprise at least one mobile communication module, such as a 3GPP communication module and possibly combined with one or more further communication technologies (PLC, short-range). In the case of the mobile communication module, the data collecting device 10 may also comprise multiple subscriptions for multiple operators, which maybe realized through having multiple Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) slots or multiple software modules in an embedded Subscriber Identification Module (eSIM) of downloadable SIM solution.

In the data collecting device 10 there is also a data collector manager unit 20 and optionally also a storage 22 for collected measurements. Fig. 2 shows one way in which the data collector manager unit 20 may be realized. In this example it is realized in the form of a processor 32 together with a program memory 34 with computer program code implementing the functionality of the data collection manager unit 20 when being run by the processor 32.

There are a number of different types of environments or power supply locations in which a power meter can be deployed. All these may influence the communication capability in different ways.

In fig. 3 there are shown four different power meters 26A, 26B, 26C and 26D in two different types of environments and communicating with a power meter handler 42 via a mobile communication network 38 and the Internet 40. The dashed lines in the figure represent communication links between the power meters and the mobile network, between the mobile network and the Internet and between the Internet and the power meter handler.42 The power meter handler device 42 may here be implemented as a cloud service where the power meters push meter data or from where the meters are interrogated for meter data. The cloud service could also be part of an intranet of a Utility. The location of the power meter handler 42 is here defined as a first data receiving location, which is a first location at which data is received from the power supply location. As can be seen in fig. 3 one environment or power supply location may be an individual house or villa and another type of environment or power supply location may be an apartment in an apartment building. Power meters may thus be deployed as a meter located in a standalone house or as a meter in an apartment in a multi-apartment building. It can be seen in fig. 3 that a first meter 26A is provided in a first apartment in an apartment building 35 while a second meter 26B is provided in a second apartment in the apartment building 35. In this example a third power meter 26C is provided in a first house 36 and a fourth power meter 26D in a second house 37.

It can be seen that in the example in fig. 3 the different meters all have point-to-point connections with the power meter handler 42. It can be seen that in this case the power meters comprise communication modules that connect directly to the Internet 40 via wireless communication such as via the mobile communication network 38. Fig. 4 shows a few other power supply location and communication technology examples. In the example in fig. 4 there are six power meters 26A, 26B, 26E, 26F, 26G and 26H, where all are provided in multi- apartment buildings 35 and 44. Just as before the first two are provided in individual apartments of a multi-apartment apartment building 35.

However the others 26E, 26F, 26G and 26H are provided in a common area of such an apartment building 44, such as in a common basement or at a common floor of the multi-apartment building. In this case the power supply location is thus the common area in the multi-apartment building. Furthermore all meters have a communication path to a data concentrator device 46 at a second data receiving location, which data communication path maybe a PLC communication path or a short-range communication path. The data concentrator device 46, which may comprise a multiplexer and demultiplexer, may in turn communicate with the power meter handler 42 via the mobile communication network 38 and the Internet 40. Also in this case the power meter handler 42 may be provided as a cloud service where the meters push the meter data or from where the meters are interrogated for their power meter data. The dashed lines in the figure represent communication links between the power meters and the concentrator, between the concentrator and the mobile network, between the mobile network and the Internet and between the Internet and the power meter handler 42. As can be seen in fig. 3 and 4, power meters, such as electricity meters, are typically deployed in one of the following configurations: a) one meter located in a standalone house or in an apartment in an apartment building, b) multiple power meters located in the basement of multi-apartment building or c) multiple electricity meters (one per apartment in the specific floor) located in each floor of a multi-apartment building. Most of the deployments motivate the use of the following solution architectures: a) point to point solutions or b) concentrator solutions. Point to point solutions include meters that contain communication modules that connect directly to the Internet e.g. by a mobile network while

concentrator solutions include meters that communicate with a

concentrator through e.g. PLC or short range communication technologies and the concentrator then communicates with the Utility through typically a mobile network.

As can thus be seen in fig. 3 and 4, a power meter 26 is to communicate with the power meter handler 42, where the power meter handler 42 is typically a device used to determine the energy consumption of a household. As can also be seen there are a number of different

communication techniques. There may also exist a number of different vendors of communication modules using these techniques as well as a number of different vendors of power meters. In relation to mobile communication, there may also exist a number of different operators, each providing communication via a corresponding mobile communication network.

This multitude of options is in itself a fact that makes it hard to determine what kind of deployment and communication solution to use. Furthermore, all the above described environments may experience different communication qualities and power measurement qualities which is due to the type of environment. Wireless short range communication from the above-described basement to a concentrator may for instance have more disturbances than wireless short-range

communication from an individual apartment to the concentrator. The quality of communication using the various communication techniques may also vary depending on other unknown local disturbances that can exist at the power supply location, such as what appliances are used. Some power supply locations may also be locations where one or more of the mobile communication operators have a bad coverage. It is therefore not easy to choose the right type of power meter

infrastructure, i.e. which communication paths that are to be set up between the power meters 26 and the power meter handler 42, such as if a "direct" mobile communication solution is to be used or if a concentrator solution is to be used.

In addition, if a mobile-network-enabled meter is chosen, also the mobile network operator that will carry the meter data will have to be selected. Moreover certain communication technologies such the PLC have sensitivity to interference from home devices/appliances which makes the choice of PLC and troubleshooting after roll-out costly.

The problem is that these choices about the electricity meter vendor and the communication technology are today performed using meter datasheets and typical performance figures from mobile operators. This data will typically deviate from the real deployment performance figures.

Moreover the PLC performance depends on the devices and appliances that each apartment/building includes.

This in turn means that the risk of selecting a substandard reporting and/ or communication structure for a power meter reporting

infrastructure or power meter reporting architecture may become forbiddingly high. Aspects of the invention are directed towards solving this problem.

A first aspect will now be described with reference being made also to fig. 5, which shows a flow chart of a number of method steps being performed in a first variation of a method of collecting data about an electric power supply location, which method steps are performed in the data collecting device. The data collecting device is here to be placed at a power supply location in order to determine power measurement and signal quality. It is possible that there is a data concentrator at a second data recceing location that can be reached from the power supply location via one or more

communication techniques. In this case there may be set up a number of communication paths between the two locations. Alternatively, it is also possible that there is no such concentrator in place but the power supply location is only able to communicate directly with a central power meter handler. The data collecting device 10 may in this case be deployed either by deployment personnel or could be dispatched to a homeowner/apartment building manager who can place it next to the traditional electricity meter and connect it to the electrical outlet 24 closest to the meter 26 at the power supply location, such as in an apartment or in a common area of an apartment building. The data collector manager unit 20 contains software which is set to control the measuring of electric properties of the power supply 24, such as electricity noise. The electric properties are then measured via the electric power measurement unit 17 or any of the PLC modules 16A-16M that contain such power quality measurement capabilities. The data collector manager unit 20 also manages

communication via various communication units as well as performs electricity channel quality measurements tests via the electric power quality measurement unit 17 or any of the capable for power quality measurements PLC modules 16 A - 16M. When activated the data collecting device 10 may therefore periodically measure the electricity noise and the communication quality experienced by the various data communication units. This means that if there is a data concentrator device 46 at the second data receiving location, then the data

communication units of the data collecting device employing the communication techniques supported by the data concentrator device 46 may make periodic transmissions to the second data receiving location over one or more communication paths set up using one of the

communication technologies stated above. These data communication units, which would normally comprise the short-range communication modules and the PLC communication modules, may then also receive periodic transmissions from the data concentrator device 46. The mobile communication modules may also connect to the various mobile communication networks for receiving signals from them, such as for receiving signals broadcast from base stations in these networks or for receiving data via a communication path leading to the power meter handler 42. The quality of the signals received via these paths may then also be determined, either by the data collector manager unit 20 or by the individual data communication units. The electric power measurements and signal quality determinations will then be provided to an analysing unit by the data collector manager unit 20. The analysing unit may as an example be implemented in the first data receiving location, for instance in the power meter handler 42. The collected noise and communication quality data with respect of the different electric power quality

measurement units and communication units may be stored locally in the measurement storage 22 or forwarded to the analysing unit, for instance via a mobile network 38.

When activated, for instance when being connected to the outlet 24, the data collection manager unit 20 may thus act to collect measurements on its own initiative or as triggered by the analysing unit. When being triggered, the data collection manager unit 20 may receive a trigger signal for instance directly from the analysing unit via a mobile communication network 38 or indirectly via the concentrator device 46 to which it may have one or more different communication links. If the data concentrator device 42 is used, it is possible that there the data concentrator device 46 has short-range communication capability, PLC communication capability or even mobile communication capability. Therefore, when initiated ,or upon the power supply connector 12 being connected to the power supply 24 at the power supply location, the data collector manager unit 20 measures, step 48, using the electric power quality measurement unit 17 or the quality measurement units in any capable PLC module 16A-16M, electric properties of the power supply 24. This may involve measuring, using every electric power quality

measurement unit 17 and capable PLC modules 16A-16M of the electrical properties of power supply, such as noise and power levels of the power supplied via the outlet. The data collecting device 10 may also receive signals via the various data communication units, step 50, where the signals maybe signals in data transmissions via one or more of the various communication paths that may exist between the data receiving location and the power supply location or signals received from base stations of the various mobile communication networks that can be reached at the power supply location.

The entity at the data receiving location, which may be the concentrator and/or the analysing unit, may transmit data over a communication path, which maybe a short-range communication path, a PLC communication path or even a mobile communication network path. The data is then received by all the possible data communication units that use the communication technology of the path. If the data is short-range data, then all short-range communication modules 18A ... 18K are set to receive the data. In a similar manner if the data is PLC data, then all PLC modules 16A ... 16M may receive the data. However, if the data is mobile

communication data, then it is most likely sent in the network of an operator. In this case the data may be received only by the mobile

5 communication modules adapted to communicate in the network of the operator.

The signal quality may then be determined, step 52, either by the individual data communication units or the data collector manager unit 1 0 20, where the signal quality may be determined using known formulas such as signal to noise ratio or bit error rate.

Furthermore it is also possible that the various data communication units communicating with a data receiving location are also used to transmit 15 data to this data receiving location. The signal quality of the transmission may then be determined at the data receiving location. The various transmissions may here also be tagged to indicate which data

communication unit that was used for the transmission. This data may be used to investigate the quality of reception at the data receiving location.

2 0

After the electric properties have been measured and the signal quality determined, these are then provided to the analysing unit for analysis, step 54. This provision may comprise storing the data in the measurement storage 34 so that the electric property measurements and quality

25 determinations may be accessed by the analysing unit if the data collecting device 10 is later brought to it, for instance by support personnel. As an alternative it is possible that the data is transmitted to the analysing unit, for instance wirelessly in a mobile communication network or via the concentrator device 46.

30

Thereafter the analysing unit may analyse the electric property

measurement and quality determination data. The analysed data may in this case comprise the measurements made by the data collecting device at the electric power supply location with respect to all possible

communication paths and communication equipment and electric power quality measurement units as well as the measurements made at the data receiving location. Based on this analysis the analysing unit may then select type of metering infrastructure, i.e. if direct communication is to be made between a power measurement location and the power meter handler or if communication is to take place via a concentrator. It may also involve selection of type of data communication to the selected data receiving location, i.e. type of data communication unit. It is here possible to select more than one type. The selection may also involve a selection of the type of meter to be used, type of equipment (manufacturer) for the selected type of communication and if the chosen type of communication is mobile communication optionally also mobile communication operator. The type of data communication may in some cases be pre-determined, in which case only vendor may be selected.

Note that it is possible that direct communication maybe selected even if there is a data concentrator device at hand. It is also possible that an architecture involving a data concentrator device is selected even if none exist at the time of data collection. It is for instance possible to select a data concentrator device architecture using short-range communication if a lot of noise is measured on the power supply combined with bad coverage in all mobile communication networks.

Thereby it is possible actually to consider the signal quality that

measurement location in the decision about measurement and reporting technology and infrastructure to be used. It can thus be seen that the data collecting device comprises multiple communication technologies, where at least the mobile communication technology is an option. The data collecting device is then placed in the vicinity of an existing power meter to collect communication quality of service statistics. These statistics may then be provided to the analysing unit, which may provide a recommendation of a) architecture of the connectivity solutions (e.g. point to point vs concentrator), b) the specific technology for connectivity (3GPP, PLC, short range), c) the specific operator for each area in case of 3GPP and d) the specific manufacturer of the communication module.

Now a second embodiment will be described in which there is

communication between a power supply location and a data receiving location, where the power supply location is the location of the data collecting device at the existing power meter of a household, for instance meter 26 A, and the data receiving location is the second data receiving location of the data concentrator device 46. The concentrator device 46 is in turn set to communicate with the analysing unit. The second

embodiment will furthermore be described with reference being made to fig. 6, which shows a signal chart of signals exchanged between the analysing unit 55, the concentrator device 46 and the data collecting device 10.

The data collecting device 10 communicates with the analysing unit, which may again be provided through a cloud service.

The analysing unit 55 initiates, stops and collects measured data from both the data collecting device and the concentrator device 46. The analysing unit 55 may send a trigger signal 56 to the data collecting device 10 as well as to the data concentrator device 46 to start to perform measurements according to a measurement scheme. The trigger 56 may be sent directly to the data collecting device 10 via a mobile communication network 38. Alternatively it may be sent to the data collecting device 10 via the concentrator device 46 and a data communication path between the concentrator device 46 and the data collecting device 10. The trigger 56 may also be sent to the concentrator device 46. Therefore the trigger may be an instruction to both the data collecting device and the data

concentrator device 46 to operate for an arbitrary period of time (e.g. 1 week, 1 month, etc.) and collect various types of data. For the data collecting device 10, the data to be collected may comprise electrical property data about the electrical properties of the power supply 24 at the power supply location, such as electricity noise measurements for the internal home deployment. The data may also comprise signal quality data about the communication paths from the power supply location to the two possible data receiving locations as well as the signal quality of various mobile communication networks. The signal quality data may thus comprise connectivity and availability measurements for the N different mobile communication units, the M different PLC communication units and the K different short-range communication units. The trigger may comprise information setting out the scheme, i.e. the time range and frequency of measurements. Alternatively the data concentrator device 46 and data collecting device 10 may already know the scheme and only wait for a trigger. In case there are multiple short-range communication units, the data collecting device 10 may also tests the connectivity over these communication channels towards the concentrator device 46, which may be placed in the same building as data collecting device 10 or at a possible future deployment location.

The data collection manager unit 20 of the data collecting device 10 then performs 58 measurements on all the communication paths between the data collecting device 60 and the concentrator using all relevant data communication units as well as on the electrical outlet according to the measurement scheme. It also performs measurements on any

communication paths going directly to the analysing unit 55 as well as connectivity and availability measurements on all available mobile communication networks. In performing the measurements it may also receive communications from the concentrator device 46 and/or the analysing unit 55. The data collection manager unit 20 of the data collecting device 10 may then report 60 the measurements to the analysing unit 55. The reporting maybe carried out via the concentrator device 46. However, it is as an alternative possible that the reporting is made directly using mobile communication. The reporting may also be made passively through the data collecting device 10 being removed from the power supply location and brought to the location of and connected to the analysing unit 55. The data collecting device 10 may also send data to the data concentrator device 46. Therefore also the data concentrator device 46 may measure 62 the quality of the communication from the data collecting device 10 and send 64 the measurements to the analysing unit 55. Once all

measurements according to the scheme have been obtained by the analysing unit 55, it may then send a signal 66 to both the data collecting device 10 and the concentrator device 46 to stop performing

measurements.

At the end of the measurement period the data collecting device 10 may therefore be provided to the analysing unit 55, which in turn analyzes the PLC noise data, the connectivity statistics from a number of mobile communication operators and communication quality of possible short- range communication. Given the quality of the PLC channel, the quality of alternative communication channels as well as the cost of troubleshooting PLC problems, cost of operator subscriptions, cost of roll out similar meters, cost of a meter of a certain type when ordered in bulk etc, the following information may be produced:

map of the meter type to be deployed and its location

• schedule of field personnel for deployment of the specific meter · mobile operator subscription recommendations Furthermore, the analysing unit may also here provide a recommendation of type of metering infrastructure, direct communication or via a concentrator, type of data communication to the selected data receiving location, type of meter to be used, type of equipment for the selected type of communication and possibly also mobile communication operator.

There are a number of different variations that are possible to be made. It is for instance possible that the only data communication unit provided in the data collecting device are mobile communication units, while the PLC communication units are provided and tested at the second data receiving location, i.e. at the concentrator device.

It is furthermore possible that multiple PLC technologies could be tested if the data collecting device also comprise all the standard options for PLC (e.g. Spread Frequency Shift Keying or SFSK, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing or OFDM etc.).

Aspects of the invention are directed towards providing a data collection arrangement comprising the data collecting device. In its simplest form the data collection arrangement only comprises the data collection device. In other aspects the data collection device also comprises the data

concentrator device. In other aspects the data collection arrangement also comprises the analysing unit. One combination in the data collection arrangement is thus the combination of data collection device and analysing unit. Another combination is the combination of data collection device, analysing unit and data concentrator device. Yet another

combination is data collection device and data concentrator device.

Furthermore, the analysing unit may be provided as a separate device. However, it may also be provided as a unit in the data collection device. It may thus either be located remotely from the data collecting device or in the data collecting device itself. Furthermore, also the analysing unit may be provided in the form of a processor with associated program memory including computer program code for performing the functionality of the analysing unit. This unit as well as the data collection manager unit may also be provided in the form of a digital signal processor (DSP).

The data collector manager unit maybe considered as comprising, upon the power supply connector being connected to a power supply at the power supply location,

means for measuring, using said at least one electric power quality measurement unit, electric properties of the power supply,

means for receiving signals via at least one data communication unit, means for determining, via the at least one data communication unit, the signal quality of the received signals, and

means for providing the electric property measurements and signal quality determinations for analysis by the analysing unit.

The means for receiving signals may furthermore be considered to comprise means for receiving signals via at least one communication path between the data collecting device and the data concentrator device.

The data collector manager unit may also be considered to comprise means for transmitting data to the data concentrator device via the at least one data communication unit in order to allow signal quality

determinations to be made by the data concentrator device.

The means for measuring electric properties of the power supply, maybe considered to comprise means for periodically performing the measuring and the means for determining signal quality maybe considered to comprise means for determining signal quality periodically. The analysing unit may be considered as comprising means for analysing the power supply property measurements and the signal quality

determinations and means for determining a suitable power meter and data communication unit to be used at the power supply location based on the analysis.

The means for determining a suitable data communication unit may comprise means for determining a type of data communication unit. The means for determining a suitable power meter and data

communication unit may further be considered to comprise means for selecting a mobile communication network based on the analysis of the signal quality in respect of all mobile communication networks. The means for determining a suitable power meter and data

communication unit may further be considered to comprise means for selecting a mobile communication module based on the analysis.

The means for determining a suitable power meter and data

communication unit may further be considered to comprise means for selecting a short-range communication module based on the analysis.

The means for determining a suitable power meter and data

communication unit may further be considered to comprise means for selecting a power line communication module based on the analysis.

While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various

modifications and equivalent arrangements. Therefore the invention is only to be limited by the following claims.