Page 26 - European Energy Innovation - autumn 2019 publication

26 Autumn 2019 European Energy Innovation
DIGITLISATION
How digitalisation is
modernising energy efficiency
By Jeremy Sung, Energy Analyst, IEA
From binge-watching television
series, to locating and renting of energy as making 60 cups of tea,
a car through a smart phone,
our lives increasingly rely on
digital technologies. Digitalisation
– the growing interaction and
convergence between the digital and about digital technologies’ potential
physical worlds – is an inevitable
process, driven by increasing volumes potentially reduce energy use.
of data, advances in our ability
to analyse that data, and greater
connectivity.
The energy sector is no different, with speed communications networks,
digitalisation changing both the way
energy is supplied and consumed,
as the IEA reported in Digitalization
and Energy.
The growing impact of digital
technologies on energy demand
has been widely publicised: From
estimates that streaming a film
online consumes the same amount
Jeremy Sung
to others suggesting Bitcoin’s daily
electricity consumption rivals that of
a medium-sized country.
However, much less has been said
to improve energy efficiency and
How can digitalisation improve
energy efficiency?
Underpinned by the rollout of high-
the digitalisation of our homes,
businesses and transport systems
offers the potential to increase energy light sensors, to thermostats, and
efficiency through a combination
of technologies that perform three
essential tasks:
1. Gathering data. This includes
technologies such as smart
meters, which gather high-
resolution energy consumption
data from homes and businesses,
as well as technologies that
collect a range of data related to
energy use, such as sensors that
record light levels, temperature, or
location (e.g. GPS tracking).
2. Analysing data. Powerful
computers, combined with
increasingly ‘intelligent’ software
algorithms, allow for the
processing and analysis of data to
produce insights into how energy
can be used more efficiently.
Examples include building
information models in commercial
buildings, ‘digital twins’ of
industrial plants, and the on-board
computer in a car.
3. Changing the physical environment
based on data analysis.
Increasingly, our connected
devices and equipment are
enabled with technologies that
can optimise energy use instantly,
based on digital signals. In
buildings, connected devices such
as lighting systems, heating and
air-conditioning equipment, and
water heaters can be programmed
to optimise energy use, depending
on the time of day and occupancy
levels. In industrial facilities, smart
actuators and drives can be
controlled via advanced industrial
energy management systems to
make subtle changes to optimise
energy use while increasing safety
and reducing production costs.
A modern office building (or ‘smart
office’) provides a good example
of how digital technologies can
combine to boost energy efficiency.
Increasingly, offices are equipped
with intelligent building energy
management systems (i-BEMS),
which collect data from sensors
throughout the building: from
occupancy sensors. These data are
combined with other data from the
electricity grid (collected via a smart
meter), as well as data on factors
such as weather conditions (gathered
from the cloud). Artificial intelligence
algorithms process the data, and
these algorithms ‘learn’ over time to
optimise energy efficiency, while also
considering comfort and potentially
responding to signals from local grid
operators.
As individual devices in the office are
fitted with their own sensors and
smart switches, the i-BEMS can tailor
energy consumption to the precise
needs of the workers within a
specific zone of the office, and
switch devices off automatically
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