Abstract-Cloud Computing is evolving from a mere "storage" technology to a new vehicle for Business Information Systems (BIS) to manage, organize and provide added-value strategies to current business models. However, the underlying infrastructure for Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) to become a new platform for trading partners and transactions must rely on intelligent, flexible, context-aware Multi-Tenant Architectures.In this paper, we present Cloudio, a Cloud Computingbased metadata-powered Multi-Tenant Architecture, backed with a proof-of-concept J2EE implementation.

Empowered by the emergence of novel information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as sensors and high-performance digital communication systems, Europe has adapted its electricity distribution network into a modern infrastructure known as a smart grid (SG). The benefits of this new infrastructure include precise and real-time capacity for measuring and monitoring the different energy-relevant parameters on the various points of the grid and for the remote operation and optimization of distribution. Furthermore, a new user profile is derived from this novel infrastructure, known as a prosumer (a user that can produce and consume energy to/from the grid), who can benefit from the features derived from applying advanced analytics and semantic technologies in the rich amount of big data generated by the different subsystems. However, this novel, highly interconnected infrastructure also presents some significant drawbacks, like those related to information security (IS). We provide a systematic literature survey of the ICT-empowered environments that comprise SGs and homes, and the application of modern artificial intelligence (AI) related technologies with sensor fusion systems and actuators, ensuring energy efficiency in such systems. Furthermore, we outline the current challenges and outlook for this field. These address new developments on microgrids, and data-driven energy efficiency that leads to better knowledge representation and decision-making for smart homes and SGs.

Here, we overview the Energies journal special issue that is dedicated to the topic of “Energy Efficiency in Smart Homes and Smart Grids” (https://www [...]