Page 34 - European Energy Innovation - Summer 2015 publication
P. 34
Summer 2015 European Energy Innovation
COMMUNICATION
INTrEPID Project: a pilot for energy
district management in smart homes
By Claudio Borean, Giuseppe Di Bella, Rosario Drogo De Iacovo and Manuel Ramiro
While Information and Communication Technologies seem to be ready for the reliable support of smart
grids applications, most of them are not yet sufficiently mature for massive sale in Europe. In the FP7 EU
funded project INTrEPID, a real pilot has been setup and it is currently running involving over 50 houses
spread over Denmark and Italy. In this note we want to share some insights and lessons learned so far by
the validation in the field. Hints on the next features being added to the INTrEPID system for the last phase
of the project are also presented.
During the past years several different devices in such systems; technologies (Wi-Fi refrigerators,
research projects have ZigBee Home Automation smart
shared the goal to find best • Building a Middleware Infrastructure plugs and meter interfaces, other
practices, technological as to deal with heterogeneous Internet proprietary technologies for other
well as operational, for smart energy of Things (IoT) systems, where devices) and the integration has
grids. In these contexts a relevant different systems can cooperate been performed at the IoT platform
role is played by the development of seamlessly; in the INTrEPID project level through a common data model
embedded intelligent systems for the different technologies have been defined in the middleware, which is
home environment and by middleware adopted, based on Wi-Fi, ZigBee a relevant output of the project;
technologies for the integration of HA1.2, Z-Wave, Modbus over IEEE
heterogeneous data coming from 802.15.4: the devices deployed at • Cloud services: besides the
distributed sensor networks. The users premises are equipped with middleware, which represent the IoT
design of well-tailored techniques is the more convenient technology platform to manage the interaction
also a key part in the development of since the INTrEPID Middleware with the different HANs, cloud
new smart grids services, in order to enable the interoperability of the component such as supervisory
take into account the complex scenario different technologies; control strategies, business
which derives from unpredictability intelligence, district scheduler and
in renewable energy generation, • Experimenting the system through recommendation systems have been
monitoring and control of appliances or a field deployment in pilot of also developed;
subsystems in buildings and homes. more than 50 homes (both energy
consumers and producers), in • User app: mobile application that
The INTrEPID project, a 3-year order to check users’ feedbacks the users of the pilot rely on to
European funded Project under the and measure the acceptance of the inspects the consumptions of hours,
FP7 program and started in November proposed solution; days or months in the past and
2012, tries to solve these challenges to understand specific appliance
by enabling the optimization of energy • Trying to address users’ needs consumption (event if not directly
consumption in residential buildings in term of quality of experience monitored by a plug) by means of
both at a local level and at district level. while involving the users to actively a so called “energy-watch” feature,
The main results of the projects so far contribute to the energy district which inspects the meter interface
have been the following: optimization task. data in real time.
• Developing advanced energy The INTrEPID system is composed by Furthermore, provided that home
monitoring systems, supervisory the following element: appliances have been equipped
control strategies able to with smart-plugs, the system allowed
coordinate large subsystems • Home Area Networks: each house the users to remotely turn them on
(renewable energy generation, received a set of IoT devices (smart and off the devices and monitor
energy storage, appliance refrigerators, smart plugs, meter specific consumption of each device
consumption, smart appliances etc.) interfaces, smart gateways); the individually; at the same time, the
and orchestrate operation of the different devices supported different data feeding to the IoT platform,
www.europeanenergyinnovation.eu
COMMUNICATION
INTrEPID Project: a pilot for energy
district management in smart homes
By Claudio Borean, Giuseppe Di Bella, Rosario Drogo De Iacovo and Manuel Ramiro
While Information and Communication Technologies seem to be ready for the reliable support of smart
grids applications, most of them are not yet sufficiently mature for massive sale in Europe. In the FP7 EU
funded project INTrEPID, a real pilot has been setup and it is currently running involving over 50 houses
spread over Denmark and Italy. In this note we want to share some insights and lessons learned so far by
the validation in the field. Hints on the next features being added to the INTrEPID system for the last phase
of the project are also presented.
During the past years several different devices in such systems; technologies (Wi-Fi refrigerators,
research projects have ZigBee Home Automation smart
shared the goal to find best • Building a Middleware Infrastructure plugs and meter interfaces, other
practices, technological as to deal with heterogeneous Internet proprietary technologies for other
well as operational, for smart energy of Things (IoT) systems, where devices) and the integration has
grids. In these contexts a relevant different systems can cooperate been performed at the IoT platform
role is played by the development of seamlessly; in the INTrEPID project level through a common data model
embedded intelligent systems for the different technologies have been defined in the middleware, which is
home environment and by middleware adopted, based on Wi-Fi, ZigBee a relevant output of the project;
technologies for the integration of HA1.2, Z-Wave, Modbus over IEEE
heterogeneous data coming from 802.15.4: the devices deployed at • Cloud services: besides the
distributed sensor networks. The users premises are equipped with middleware, which represent the IoT
design of well-tailored techniques is the more convenient technology platform to manage the interaction
also a key part in the development of since the INTrEPID Middleware with the different HANs, cloud
new smart grids services, in order to enable the interoperability of the component such as supervisory
take into account the complex scenario different technologies; control strategies, business
which derives from unpredictability intelligence, district scheduler and
in renewable energy generation, • Experimenting the system through recommendation systems have been
monitoring and control of appliances or a field deployment in pilot of also developed;
subsystems in buildings and homes. more than 50 homes (both energy
consumers and producers), in • User app: mobile application that
The INTrEPID project, a 3-year order to check users’ feedbacks the users of the pilot rely on to
European funded Project under the and measure the acceptance of the inspects the consumptions of hours,
FP7 program and started in November proposed solution; days or months in the past and
2012, tries to solve these challenges to understand specific appliance
by enabling the optimization of energy • Trying to address users’ needs consumption (event if not directly
consumption in residential buildings in term of quality of experience monitored by a plug) by means of
both at a local level and at district level. while involving the users to actively a so called “energy-watch” feature,
The main results of the projects so far contribute to the energy district which inspects the meter interface
have been the following: optimization task. data in real time.
• Developing advanced energy The INTrEPID system is composed by Furthermore, provided that home
monitoring systems, supervisory the following element: appliances have been equipped
control strategies able to with smart-plugs, the system allowed
coordinate large subsystems • Home Area Networks: each house the users to remotely turn them on
(renewable energy generation, received a set of IoT devices (smart and off the devices and monitor
energy storage, appliance refrigerators, smart plugs, meter specific consumption of each device
consumption, smart appliances etc.) interfaces, smart gateways); the individually; at the same time, the
and orchestrate operation of the different devices supported different data feeding to the IoT platform,
www.europeanenergyinnovation.eu
