Inspiring Energy Conservation Through Open Source Power Monitoring and In-Home Display
I just learnt that that my full co-authored (with co-author Fred Popowich, TaeJin Moon, and Bob Gill) paper “Inspiring Energy Conservation Through Open Source Power Monitoring and In-Home Display” was accepted at the IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting. It will be held in Vancouver so I will not need to travel! Here is the paper abstract:
Many homeowners and occupants are interested in energy conservation for economical and/or ecological reasons. A number of commercial energy conservation solutions exist on the market today. However, these products contain closed systems and do not provide easy access to much of the raw data needed for more sophisticated analysis. An open source solution would be a great benefit for homeowners and occupants, allowing access to (and custom analysis of) raw power readings. We present a complete open source solution that monitors power, stores raw power readings, and makes provision for an in-home display, that informs stakeholders about energy consumption through a real-time ambient feedback effectively becoming an eco-feedback device.
Keywords: Power Monitoring, In-Home Display, Residential, Open Source, Arduino, RS-485, Modbus, Electric Imp, Energy Conservation
Apparently there were over 1,600 submission and they will be accepting only between 60-80 papers. Those are some odds!
Related articles
- The Cognitive Power Meter: Looking Beyond the Smart Meter (eco-sustain.org)
The Cognitive Power Meter: Looking Beyond the Smart Meter
Last week I learnt that that my full co-authored (with co-author Fred Popowich and Bob Gill) paper “The Cognitive Power Meter: Looking Beyond the Smart Meter” was accepted at IEEE‘s 2013 Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering (CCECE’13). So I will be travelling to Regina, Saskatchewan in the Canada. Here is the paper abstract:
The smart meter is often heralded as the key component supporting energy displays that can notify home occupants of their energy usage. But, a smart meter is only a digital power meter with enhanced communications capabilities — it is not actually smart. We need to look beyond the smart meter and define what intelligence is needed to actually make a meter smart. One area with promise is load disaggregation. Load disaggregation can be used to determine what loads contributing to the consumption reading at the smart meter. A smart meter incorporating load disaggregation intelligence can be seen as going beyond the traditional smart meter — what we call a cognitive power meter (c-meter). However, using load disaggregation, in its current form, is not feasible. We critically review the requirements for a c-meter and provide insights as to how load disaggregation research needs to change to make the c-meters a reality.
Keywords: Power Meter, Smart Meter, Load Disaggregation, Cognitive Analysis, Demand Response, Energy Conservation
I will post a link to where you can download the paper soon…
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APMR Version 2.0 Released
Version 2.0 of the Arduino Power Meter Reader (APMR) project is now released. APMR s an open source hardware and software project. APMR reads the power (W) and energy (Wh) readings of RS485/Modbus communicating power meters at a constant interval. Readings are recorded on an SD card and/or sent over the Internet using a HTTP RESTful web service. Version 2.0 sees a number of new features and enhancements which include:
- Added feature to log readings to SD card
- Added feature to save setting/config to EEPROM using browser
- Modified JSON format and accompany web service
- Perform load testing on hardware
- Sense when network down, when up send all unsent readings
APMR has a new project website (http://smakonin.github.com/APMR/) and the project source code can be down loaded from GitHub (https://github.com/smakonin/APMR).
Special thanks to TJ Moon who worked on this project all summer long!
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A Smarter Smart Home: Case Studies of Ambient Intelligence
This week I learnt that I (and co-author Lyn Bartram and Fred Popowich) will have a paper appearing in a future issue of IEEE Pervasive Computing (vol 12, no 1). Here is the paper abstract:
Research has shown that small changes in behaviour in how we use our homes can result in substantial energy and water savings. Home automation and the integration of computational intelligence capabilities in the “smart home” are often cited as promising advances in the design and renovation of efficient buildings. However, the design and implementation of such technologies are largely based on energy use simulations, smart automation of the building systems and components for optimal performance rather than on effectively supporting how people use their homes. Additional factors including system complexity and awkward automation can discourage acceptance of smart home technologies. In this paper we propose that technological support for sustainable home use lies in more subtle and contextually appropriate interventions that integrate more informative models of occupant behaviour, provide hybrid levels of automated control, and use ambient sensing for localized decisions. We discuss several cases from our experience in designing sustainable home systems and describe two current design cases for ambient intelligence in home control.
Keywords: Smart Home, Ambient Intelligence; Adaptive Lighting; Circadian Rhythms; Adaptive HVAC.
You can find a PDF of the paper at http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/MPRV.2012.58
Keep your eyes peeled as there are a number of other submissions that I am either waiting on review or in the midst of writing. Write on…
Wiring and Arduino Update
Wire Cabinet Finished
Well I have been very busy with course work. I though I would post a quick update.
I have finally finished reorganizing my wiring cabinet and I now have it jam-packed with all sort of equipment. As seen on the right.
I also stated the Arduino Power Meter Reader (APMR) project page which I will slowly add information to in the coming weeks. I will also be posting the source code on GitHub in the next couple of days. This will be released as an open source project.
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Energy conservation drivers
I have been busy getting back in to course work for this fall; but I though it would be good to set up a poll to see what people think about what will drive energy conservation. Please contribute by taking my poll.
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Proliphix IMT550w thermostat installed
Today I finally installed my Proliphix IMT550w Network Thermostat. As you may have read in my earlier post, it was hard to find the right thermostat for my American Standard HVAC system, and it took me over 2 week to do an exhaustive search to find the IMT550. To review, I have a dual fuel system with a 2-stage heat pump and a 2-stage, variable speed gas furnace.
I spent the last couple of weeks figuring out how my HVAC system is wired. This took some time because there where a different amount of terminals with different labels (e.g. my system labels W2 as X2, and not needed). The colouring of the wires was also different. I cautiously documented the current wiring scheme and the new wiring scheme with my new IMT550w installed. I then talked to Proliphix Support and they worked with me to come up with the right wiring scheme. Proliphix has one of the best support departments. Mark, from Proliphix Support, was knowledgeable and responded quickly to all my emails–what more could I ask for. For those of you who are interested in seeing the before and after diagram of my HVAC wiring take a look at my HVAC Wiring Scheme document.
What I like about the IMT550w is:
- I can read and change setting from my browser, making it easier to set up schedules;
- I can install additional indoor temperature sensors, providing more comfort and energy efficiency;
- the temperature sensors that go with the thermostat (need to order separately) are more accurate than the ACONT802;
- the thermostat firmware can be updated with new functionality.
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