Information Systems and Science for Energy

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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. **************