Information Systems and Science for Energy

今天的电网是一个大规模的、异质的、广泛部署的系统，在全球范围内被视为关键基础设施。不幸的是，这个有百年历史的系统面临着几个主要问题，包括基础设施老化、碳排放量大、发电厂的规模以峰值而不是平均负荷为目标，以及无法存储超过发电量的一小部分。这些问题正在通过诸如分布式发电、电动汽车、引入能量存储以及使用通信网络来监测和控制电网元件等创新来解决。这些发展将极大地改变网格的性质，从一个单向的、中央控制的、准静态的系统，变成一个双向的、分布式的、高度动态的系统，就像现在的互联网一样。 我的长期目标是应用互联网开创的概念和技术，为未来智能电网的架构和运营做出根本性贡献。这是可能的，因为互联网和电网都是为了解决类似的问题而设计的：将地理上分散的供应商(信息和能源)近乎实时地匹配给消费者。此外，随着通信价格的迅速下降和无线通信基础设施的激增，以前所未有的规模监测和控制网格元素成为可能。 本提案所述的短期目标是利用信息系统技术确定和解决家庭能源管理领域的问题。根据这一短期目标，我提出了五个具体项目：家庭能源计量、家庭负荷建模、基本负荷分析、非现金能源效率激励措施以及智能家电设计。

Today's electrical grid is a large-scale, heterogeneous, and widely-deployed system that is globally viewed as critical infrastructure. Unfortunately, this century-old system suffers from several major problems including ageing infrastructure, a large carbon footprint, generation plants sized for peak rather than average load, and inability to store more than a tiny fraction of the generated energy. These issues are being addressed by innovations such distributed generation, electric vehicles, the introduction of energy storage, and the use of communication networks to both monitor and control grid elements. These developments will significantly alter the nature of the grid from a unidirectional, centrally-controlled, quasi-static system to a bi-directional, distributed, highly dynamic system, much like the current Internet. My long-term objective is to apply concepts and technologies pioneered by the Internet to make fundamental contributions to the architecture and operations of the future smart grid. This is possible because the Internet and the grid were both designed to solve similar problems: that of matching geographically distributed suppliers (of information and energy) to consumers in near real-time. Moreover, with the rapidly dropping price for communication and the proliferation of wireless communication infrastructure, it is possible to monitor and control grid elements at a heretofore unprecedented scale. The short-term objectives described in this proposal are to define and solve problems in the area of home energy management using information systems technology. I propose five specific projects in line with this short-term objective: home energy measurement, home load modelling, baseload analytics, non-cash incentives for energy efficiency, and smart appliance design.