(1)

From Smart Grids to Smart Consumers

Robert Brewer (rbrewer@lava.net)

Philip Johnson (johnson@hawaii.edu)

Collaborative Software Development Laboratory

http://csdl.ics.hawaii.edu/

&

Renewable Energy and Island Sustainability

http://reis.manoa.hawaii.edu/

University of Hawaii

(2)

Motivation IPCC says climate is changing because of us•1m sea level rise this century•Ocean acidification•Weather more variable (storms, droughts)

Oil will run out this century•91% of HI electricity from fossil fuels

Before it runs out, oil price will skyrocket•Hawaii spends $800K/hr for oil imports now

(3)

Smart Grid Vision Let’s imagine a “near” future for Hawaii:

•HECO:-more diversified utility-scale generation-a “smart” grid

•Consumers:-more personal-scale generation (solar)-high quality info about energy usage/impact (CO2, $)

-able to make “smart” energy decisions

The result:•Lower cost, more predictable & sustainable energy

So how do we get there from here?

(4)

Challenges Changing HECO is hard

Homeowners have options•Install PV panels•Install solar hot water heater•Upgrade to more efficient appliances•Change their behavior

Behavior change is key•Only option for renters & office dwellers•If the people lead, the leaders will follow

(5)

Research Goal How do we investigate “behavior change”?•Design and implement simulations of “highly transparent” energy generation and usage.

•Design and implement consumer-facing information repositories and interfaces

Research question:•What kinds of information do consumers need, at what time and in what way, in order for them to make “smart” energy choices?

(6)

What is a “smart” choice? A “smart” consumer energy choice is a conscious trade-off between the “3 C’s”:

What choice has the least cost?•Run the A/C when energy is cheapest

What choice generates the least carbon?•Run the A/C when the carbon intensity of the grid is lowest

What choice is most convenient?•Start the A/C before I get home

(7)

Implications No grid can ever be “smart” enough to eliminate the need for “smart” consumers.•People are part of the grid!

Technological support for smart consumption is a non-trivial problem, involving:•getting the right information on energy•storage, analysis, presentation, delivery

•social, privacy implications

(8)

Research Projects WattDepot•Research infrastructure for energy data storage and analysis

OSCAR•Oahu Smart Consumer Analysis & Research

REIS Smart Grid Lab Design•Instrumentation and analysis for GHHI

Saunders Hall Energy Competition•Understanding impact of incentives, communication on conservation

Community Outreach•Collaborations with Hawaii organizations

(9)

WattDepot Integrates power data from diverse sources•From utility generation to consumer usage

Implemented as RESTful web service•PUT http://host/wattdepot/sources/saunders/sensordata/2009-07-28T09:00:00.000-10:00

•GET http://host/wattdepot/sources/kahe02/power/2009-12-13T18:00:00.000-10:00

Status•Can store & retrieve sensor data•Can chart data via Google Visualization API•Dynamically fetch Saunders data very soon

(10)

WattDepot Data Flow

(11)

OSCAR Simulated dataset of Oahu power generation:•Power production by baseline, cycling, peaking plants

•Carbon intensity of each plant Simulated dataset of consumer usage•Based upon real data (Philip’s home usage)

Design of consumer-facing interfaces to support “smart” choices (3 C’s)•ICS software engineering class projects

(12)

REIS Smart Grid Lab Design

WattDepot and OSCAR are two components

Other possible components:•Sensors for Holmes Hall power consumption

•Sensors for Holmes Hall rooftop PV•Simulation software•Power generation equipment•Educational “lab experiments”

(13)

Saunders Energy Competition

5 floors in Saunders Hall compete•Series of rounds•Scheduled for early 2010

Different incentives and communication media each round•“Ambient” displays show floor power usage•Per-floor websites for collaboration•Winner gets some $ savings returned

Hypotheses•Ambient displays & websites aid conservation

•Incentives help in short term, but not long

(14)

Community Outreach Blue Planet Foundation (Gary Gill)•Planning energy conversation contest•< 50 homes

Kanu Hawaii (Olin Lagon)•Has funding to study power meters & audits

•Determine their effectiveness in HI•Hundreds of homes

Hawaii Energy Efficiency Program (Derrick Sonoda)•New home of HECO’s efficiency programs•Planning website where people can compare electricity usage to similar homes

(15)

Deliverables Fall 2009 WattDepot implementation•Retrieving data from Saunders (usage & PV), Philip’s house, OSCAR

•Providing display and simple analyses of data

OSCAR implementation•Generating simulated Oahu data•Dialog with Oahu on getting real data

Smart Grid Lab planning•Specify sensors to instrument Holmes

Saunders Energy Competition•Experimental design•Website prototype

(16)

Research Contributions Technology for smart grid research and applications:

•WattDepot

Improved understanding of consumer energy information needs, incentives, behaviors:•OSCAR•Saunders Hall

Insights for utilities and device manufacturers•How to make your grid/device “smart consumer compliant”