Analysing domestic electricity smart metering data using self organising maps

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the UK Government provided public health advice to stay at home from 16 March 2020, followed by instruction to stay at home (full lockdown) from 24 March 2020. We use data with high temporal resolution from utility sensors installed in 280 homes across social housing in Cornwall, UK, to test for changes in domestic electricity, gas and water usage in response to government guidance. Gas usage increased by 20% following advice to stay at home, the week before full lockdown, although no difference was seen during full lockdown itself. During full lockdown, morning electricity usage shifted to later in the day, decreasing at 6 a.m. and increasing at midday. These changes in energy were echoed in water usage, with a 17% increase and a one-hour delay in peak morning usage. Changes were consistent with people getting up later, spending more time at home and washing more during full lockdown. Evidence for these changes was also observed in later lockdowns, but not between lockdowns. Our findings suggest more compliance with an enforced stay-at-home message than with advice. We discuss implications for socioeconomically disadvantaged households given the indication of inability to achieve increased energy needs during the pandemic.

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A Possible Smart Metering System Evolution for Rural and Remote Areas Employing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Internet of Things in Smart Grids

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s21051627 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (5) ◽

pp. 1627

Author(s):

Giovanni Battista Gaggero ◽

Mario Marchese ◽

Aya Moheddine ◽

Fabio Patrone

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Internet Of Things ◽

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽

Smart Metering ◽

Rural And Remote ◽

Electrical Grid ◽

Remote Areas ◽

Aerial Vehicles ◽

Consumption Data ◽

Rural And Remote Areas

The way of generating and distributing energy throughout the electrical grid to all users is evolving. The concept of Smart Grid (SG) took place to enhance the management of the electrical grid infrastructure and its functionalities from the traditional system to an improved one. To measure the energy consumption of the users is one of these functionalities that, in some countries, has already evolved from a periodical manual consumption reading to a more frequent and automatic one, leading to the concept of Smart Metering (SM). Technology improvement could be applied to the SM systems to allow, on one hand, a more efficient way to collect the energy consumption data of each user, and, on the other hand, a better distribution of the available energy through the infrastructure. Widespread communication solutions based on existing telecommunication infrastructures instead of using ad-hoc ones can be exploited for this purpose. In this paper, we recall the basic elements and the evolution of the SM network architecture focusing on how it could further improve in the near future. We report the main technologies and protocols which can be exploited for the data exchange throughout the infrastructure and the pros and cons of each solution. Finally, we propose an innovative solution as a possible evolution of the SM system. This solution is based on a set of Internet of Things (IoT) communication technologies called Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) which could be employed to improve the performance of the currently used technologies and provide additional functionalities. We also propose the employment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to periodically collect energy consumption data, with evident advantages especially if employed in rural and remote areas. We show some preliminary performance results which allow assessing the feasibility of the proposed approach.

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Digitalisierung und Nachhaltigkeit im Haushalts‑, Gebäude- und Verkehrssektor: Ein kurzer Überblick

List Forum für Wirtschafts- und Finanzpolitik ◽

10.1007/s41025-021-00222-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Manuel Frondel

Keyword(s):

Smart Home ◽

Smart Metering

ZusammenfassungDer Digitalisierung wird ein großes Potenzial zur Senkung des Energieverbrauchs und der damit einhergehenden Umwelteffekte zugeschrieben. Die in diesem Beitrag zusammengetragene empirische Evidenz deutet jedoch darauf hin, dass damit häufig lediglich geringe Effekte einhergehen. So fallen die Energieeinsparwirkungen von Smart-Home- und Smart-Metering-Technologien eher moderat aus und bewegen sich im niedrigen einstelligen Prozentbereich. Dementsprechend gering sind auch die mit der Energieeinsparung verbundenen Umwelteffekte. In Bezug auf den Ausstoß an Kohlendioxid sind wegen des Wasserbetteffektes gar keinerlei Minderungseffekte in Sektoren zu erwarten, die in den EU-Emissionshandel integriert sind. Dieser Beitrag argumentiert, dass in Kombination mit der Etablierung von Mautsystemen die größten Effekte in dem noch nicht in den EU-Emissionshandel integrierten Sektor Verkehr zu erwarten sein dürften.

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