NanoMarkets, a Virginia-based industry analyst firm, claims that new smart grid infrastructure projects will generate significant new opportunities for sensor manufacturers. 

According to the report, “Sensors for the Smart Grid: Market Opportunities 2010-2017,” building the new smart grid infrastructure will generate $11.4 billion revenue for sensors and related products. 

Remote inspection of transformers will be a key area for the implementation of sensors in the distribution network, NanoMarkets analysts said. The agency forecasts that sensors for remote monitoring of transformers will generate $2.3 billion in revenues in 2017. 

Remote monitoring of transformers will reduce blackouts significantly. Analysis of dissolved gas and moisture of the insulating oil is a key component of measuring transformer health. Officials at NanoMarkets think that equipping smart grid transformers with remote inspection dissolved gas monitors will provide the necessary “eyes and ears” to effectively monitor and protect transformer assets in real time. 

Smart grid projects aim to enable more electricity to be carried on the transmission network. Sensors can help achieve this goal in a variety of ways, NanoMarkets analysts said. One of them is dynamic line rating, a method to increase power flow over existing transmission lines, enabled by increased situational awareness of weather and line temperature conditions. This information can be used to calculate capacity, increasing the allowable flow capacity by 10 percent-15 percent. 

NanoMarkets predicts that by 2017, sensors for dynamic line rating devices in the Smart Grid are expected to account for more than $1.0 billion in revenue. 

Another area of opportunity is on sensors for home area networks, or “HAN.” The biggest opportunity in this segment will be for appliances. According to NanoMarkets, by 2017, about $2.3 billion will also be spent on sensors for HAN.

Some of the consumer electronics majors including GE, LG, and Whirlpool have already committed to making a significant portion of their product line smart-enabled within the coming years. Deploying sensors that link home appliances with smart meters will significantly increase overall energy efficiency and reduce peak demand generation requirements, NanoMarkets thinks.

NanoMarkets’ new report is part of the series of reports that analyzes the opportunities that will emerge from the smart grid. 

Earlier this month, NanoMarkets released the report “Opportunities for New Materials and Devices in the Smart Grid: 2010 to 2017,” in which it stated that smart grid infrastructure needs will generate sizeable demand for advanced materials suppliers spanning from new compound semiconductors to the latest nanomaterials.

The report claimed that new smart grid infrastructure products will present a $12 billion income opportunity for suppliers of components, wires, cables, storage devices and insulators.

Learn more about Smart Grid technology at the Smart Grid Summit, an event collocated with ITEXPO East 2010, to be held Jan. 20 to 22 in Miami. This is the event you need to attend if you want to understand the role that IP communications technologies will play in how the Smart Grid evolves – not just for making utilities more efficient, but also for enabling the Smart Home and a new generation of communications innovations. Register now.