Automatic Meter Reading Provides Opportunities for New Prognosis and Simulation Methods

Abstract

The use of top-down models for load forecasting purposes has been a dominating method over the last few decades. However, there is now concern regarding the performance of topdown models, e.g. in situations with unusual weather conditions, due to the lack of historical data. This paper considers an alternative bottom-up approach with a stronger relation to the laws of physics. Electrical companies in Sweden are installing automatic meter reading systems for their customers, and using consumption data gives new possibilities for adapting the modeling parameters in a bottom-up model for each customer. A method for analyzing individual consumption series is suggested, where different periods in time are used to divide and identify different parts of the electricity load: base load, heat load and household loads. A review of previous work is presented, and suggestions on how to link load analysis to construction parameters for an individual building are proposed.

Towards a Self-managing Tool for Optimizing Energy Usage in Buildings

“…These inputs are then used in creating a plan to reduce the cost while satisfying conditions and priorities of the customer. To our knowledge, most such systems that provide some sort of interface to the consumer to plan and save power are very few in number and are very rudimentary from a software perspective [8], [14] and [15]. In essence, what is required is a self-managing system that takes user defined goals and produces energy usage plans for the user.…”