Smart transformers could help modernize the power grid in two distinct ways: conventional transformers with sensors can give utilities better information about equipment condition, while solid-state transformers (SSTs) use power electronics to control how electricity moves through a grid node. The first approach supports maintenance decisions; the second could add functions such as power-flow control and support for distributed energy resources. Neither should be mistaken for proof that smart transformers have already transformed the grid at scale.
What does “smart transformer” mean?
The term covers different technologies, and the distinction matters when judging their impact.
| Technology | What it does | Potential grid contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Conventional transformer with digital monitoring | Adds sensors, online condition monitoring or remaining-life analysis to a conventional transformer. | Helps utilities assess asset condition and prioritize maintenance, replacement and equipment selection. |
| Solid-state transformer (SST) | Uses power-electronic converters together with a high-frequency transformer to convert voltage and control electrical conditions. | Could provide more active control of power flow and support functions beyond conventional voltage step-up or step-down. |
Monitoring adds information about an asset; an SST changes how power can be converted and controlled. A monitored conventional transformer is not an SST simply because it sends data to a utility.
Why transformer modernization matters
Transformers connect parts of the electricity system and serve homes, businesses, manufacturing and data centers. In the United States, aging equipment, failures, end-of-life retirements and new customers all add pressure to plan replacements and expand capacity. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in its November 2024 announcement summarizing an NREL-prepared distribution-transformer study, reported an estimate that about 55% of in-service U.S. distribution transformers were more than 33 years old.
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DOE also identified data centers, electric vehicles and charging stations, and renewable generation as important demand influences. That context makes better asset information and more flexible grid equipment relevant, but it does not mean SSTs are the only—or necessarily the best—answer to transformer demand and supply constraints.
What solid-state transformers could change in grid operation
DOE’s 2020 Solid State Power Substation Technology Roadmap describes a broader concept: a solid-state power substation, or SSPS, that strategically integrates high-voltage power-electronic converters at a substation or grid node. In the roadmap’s vision, modular converter blocks could act as power routers or hubs. They could control bidirectional AC or DC power flow between sources and loads, including across voltage or frequency differences.
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The roadmap describes these as potential capabilities, not outcomes established across an operating fleet. They include:
- Directing or sharing power flows and helping manage peak demand.
- Supporting power quality, system stability and distribution performance.
- Making more use of substation and transmission-line capacity and other grid assets.
- Rapidly isolating faulted sections, with possible resilience and black-start support.
DOE’s August 2023 Advanced Transformers Workshop Report records participants discussing possible SST applications involving electric-vehicle charging, distributed energy resources, storage, voltage support and virtual-power-plant hubs. These are workshop-discussed opportunities; the report does not establish that every use is commercially deployed or that every design delivers the same benefits.
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What digital monitoring can—and cannot—do
For conventional transformers, online condition monitors and remaining-life algorithms can help utilities understand asset condition and inform equipment selection. EPRI describes research and evaluation in these areas as intended to help utilities prioritize replacement based on estimated remaining life.
Monitoring does not itself provide the power-electronic conversion and control functions of an SST. Its value is better information for asset management; it does not, on its own, establish that a transformer has more capacity, will last longer, or can support new electrical functions.
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How mature is the technology, and what constraints remain?
The DOE roadmap and EPRI’s project information describe research, development and testing—not evidence that SSTs have already been deployed widely across the U.S. grid. EPRI identifies a prototype SST testing project as underway; project status may change. The sources do not establish a current deployment percentage, so claims of broad adoption would go beyond the available evidence.
DOE’s roadmap identifies development needs spanning hardware, simulation, controls, protection, thermal management, communications, cyber-physical security, standards, testing and markets. The DOE workshop report also records cost and reliability as adoption concerns, including concern that power-electronics converters could have shorter lifetimes. These are reported concerns, not a universal field failure rate or a quantified lifecycle comparison.
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- Timer & Memory Functions: Set up the Wi-Fi landscape transformer by tapping the "+" icon in the Smart Life App for automatic pairing. Six modes - Manual ON/OFF, Schedule, Cycle, Random, Countdown, and Astronomical - provide flexible lighting control for different situations. The built-in memory function restores the previous settings automatically after a power outage, eliminating the need for repeated adjustments
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Cybersecurity and interoperability matter beyond the transformer itself. DOE’s Smart Grid System Report describes cybersecurity risk management as important and plug-and-play interoperability as a challenging, long-term task for smart-grid modernization. A grid node cannot deliver its intended value in isolation: sensing, communications, controls and coordination with other grid resources also matter.
What utilities should compare before choosing an approach
The right choice depends on the grid problem being addressed. A utility considering monitoring equipment and one considering an SST are not comparing interchangeable products; they are evaluating different capabilities and system requirements.
- Use case: Is the priority better asset-condition information, or active power conversion and control?
- Electrical requirements: What system voltage and rating are needed, and does the application require power-flow control or AC/DC conversion?
- Integration: How must the equipment work with distributed resources, EV charging, protection systems and existing controls?
- Operational evidence: What field evidence exists for reliability, serviceability and lifetime in the intended application?
- System risks: How will cybersecurity and interoperability be managed?
- Economics and installation: How do footprint and lifecycle cost compare with conventional equipment and other ways of addressing the same grid need?
Those questions reflect the technical and institutional work identified in DOE’s roadmap and workshop report and EPRI’s evaluation activity. They are more useful than treating “smart transformer” as a single product category or assuming that one design is suitable for every grid location.
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