I-Corps: E2 Home: Web-based Application for Home Energy Efficiency Using Contextual Information from Smart Meters and Smartphones

近年来，大量的研究集中在与电力分配和消费有关的问题上。尽管通过部署智能电网基础设施可以提高配电网络的效率和稳健性，但最终用户及其消费行为继续在此类电网的整体性能中发挥重要作用，特别是它们对峰值使用的影响。与此同时，由于零售能源价格的上涨和对环境的日益关注，终端用户对能够帮助他们减少电力消耗的技术解决方案越来越感兴趣。在这个建议中，团队介绍了一个基于web的应用程序，它可以智能地帮助客户降低电力消耗。该应用程序利用现有的数据源，如传感器、智能电表和智能手机，不仅收集有关电力消耗的数据，还收集有关电力消耗的上下文（例如，用户位置、活动）的数据，然后通过基于mapreduce的数据融合和基于web的交互式图表和地图的可视化，将它们转换为用户可操作的信息。与现有的智能电表数据的一维视图不同，拟议的方法以简单的目标操作的形式提供个性化的可操作信息，用户可以采取这些操作来减少他们的电力消耗。该项目建立在无线传感器网络和智能环境中传感、联网和数据处理的概念和解决方案的基础上。更具体地说，所提出的技术可以使用类似mapreduce的范例成功地集成来自实时第三方源的大型动态异构数据流，然后在Web上的交互式图表和地图上向最终用户展示相关的趋势和模式。这个项目潜在的社会和商业影响是巨大的。基于对潜在客户的初步探索性访谈，存在着使用类似所建议的应用程序的显著需求。这些潜在用户被详细的个性化建议所吸引，比如采取哪些行动来减少电力消耗，从而从根本上降低发电和配电网的负荷，作为副产品。该团队还希望为I-Corps项目开发的解决方案方法适用于其他领域，如智能医疗保健、私人或公共交通。例如，可以利用现有的数据源来提供一个问题的准确概览。美国的健康和福祉，导致更准确的诊断和先发制人的行动，以改善健康状况。

In recent years, a significant amount of research has focused on problems related to electricity distribution and consumption in the nation. Although the efficiency and robustness of the electricity distribution network can be improved by deploying a smart grid infrastructure, the end users and their consumption behavior continue to play an important role in the overall performance of such a grid, in particular their impact on the peak usage. At the same time, due to rising retail energy prices and growing concerns about the environment, end users have become more interested into technological solutions that can help them reduce electricity consumption. In this proposal, the team introduces a Web-based application that intelligently helps customers lower their electricity consumption. The application leverages existing data sources, such as sensors, smart meters, and smartphones, to collect data not only about electricity consumption, but also the context in which this occurred (e.g., user location, activity), and then transform them into actionable information for the user by means of a MapReduce-based data fusion and visualization on interactive Web-based charts and maps. Unlike existing applications that present a one-dimensional view of the smart meter data, the proposed approach offers personalized actionable information in the form of simple targeted actions that users can take to reduce their electricity consumption. This project builds on concepts and solutions for sensing, networking, and processing of data in wireless sensor networks and smart environments. More specifically, the proposed technology can successfully integrate large dynamic heterogeneous data streams originating from live third-party sources using a MapReduce-like paradigm, and then present the relevant trends and patterns to the end user on interactive charts and maps on the Web.The potential societal and commercial impact of this project is significant. Based on the initial exploratory interviews with potential customers, there exists a significant demand to use an application like the one proposed. These potential users are attracted by detailed personalized suggestions as to what actions to take in order to reduce electricity consumption, thus essentially lowering the load on the generation and distribution grid as a by-product. The team also expects the solution methodologies developed for this I-Corps project to be applicable in other domains, such as smart healthcare, and private or public transportation. For instance, existing data sources could be leveraged to offer an accurate overview of one?s health and well-being, leading to more accurate diagnosis and pre-emptive actions to improve health conditions.