Intelligence for Energy
The current electric model is characterized by being a strongly centralized system, insufficient for the new requirements and current needs, mainly the integration of renewables and the increase in energy consumption during the last two decades. The need arises for a new energy system, where the implementation of IoT solutions is crucial. This concept is known as SmartGrid, we are facing a new energy industry, more decentralized and capable of integrating many different sources of energy into highly reliable networks, this implies a large amount of data that flows bidirectionally from multiple sources. The challenge is to analyze the data that comes from the network and other sources (meteo, …) to generate new value-added services using Data Analytics, but always maintaining the uninterrupted flow and the quality of energy at the lowest possible cost.
Digitalization in the energy sector does not consist in mechanizing processes, but in making the organization more flexible in order to respond quickly to the demands of its sector, it presents new opportunities and challenges in the creation of new business models. In this session, the new actors and challenges for the energy world digitalization are presented, but also the results of three Data Driven deployments which clearly show how Data Analytics use real data to optimize exhaustive energy use:
- A Model Predictive Control which optimize the ON/OFF of the HVAC in a tertiary building for energy bill reduction while satisficing comfort;
- A pilot where soft sensors can help to infer physical magnitudes crucial to monitored industrial processes in real time avoiding waste of energy, and
- An Expert System of energy management in the industrial plant (Industry4.0) able to detect energy inefficiencies in processes, machines and plants.
Izaskun Mendia – Tecnalia