Meshed Intelligent System for Energy‐use Reduction (eMISER)
PROBLEM Energy use is highly variable in non-metered homes, and is not monitored or managed remotely.
PROJECT Concentris Systems is demonstrating a smart metering technology in Oahu military housing, which will enable residents and energy managers to save energy by monitoring and controlling appliances through the web and mobile devices.
AWARD $248,000 (HREDV 80%, private 20%)
LOCATION Kaneohe, Oahu
PARTNERS
- Oceanit
- Forest City Military Communities
SUMMARY
View the June 2011 video and news story about the project.
With US demand for electricity forecast to double by 2050, huge investments are being made in technologies that will enable the DOE’s vision of a “Smart Grid” that reacts to changes in demand, accepts and routes power from distributed sources, and motivates consumers to make wise choices through real‐time communication. Home Area Networks and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (HAN/AMI or, collectively, Smart Meters) will play a critical role in making this complex vision a reality.
The Meshed Intelligent System for Energy-use Reduction (eMISER) Community Mesh will advance the state‐of‐the‐art in distributed smart metering technology, focusing on the underserved niche of community-centered energy use reduction projects. The project will result in a pre‐commercial test bed implementation of rapidly deployed smart meter technology that meets the specific requirements of a military housing community in Hawaii. The project will address the unmet need for rapidly‐deployed Smart Metering technology that supports plug load level monitoring and real time reporting/control of energy usage via the Web and mobile devices.
The eMISER HAN technology will be developed by Oceanit. The system consists of secure, low cost, easy‐to‐install networked devices that resemble traditional wall sockets or power strips. The devices, also called Oceanit Sockets, instantly form an 802.15.4 ZigBee mesh network. Each Oceanit Socket can power one or more appliances while monitoring power consumption for each device, providing highly granular real‐time plug load consumption data. The system provides control via a local network or over the internet, including a custom‐developed iPhone application.
In contrast to AMI solutions targeting power utilities, the eMISER system will monitor energy consumption and provide on/off control of devices without new meters or costly rewiring. Unlike proprietary HAN solutions by appliance manufacturers, the system does not require special appliances with embedded proprietary technology. The Oceanit Sockets system uses commercially available, low‐cost components, works with any standard device and can be rapidly deployed and reconfigured with no special tools and with limited training.
The work product of the effort will be a rapidly‐deployable, reconfigurable prototype eMISER system demonstrated in a live test‐bed implementation on a military housing project in Hawaii.
The goals for this project are:
- Develop a rapidly deployable technology solution capable of providing real‐time, plug‐load level energy‐use data across a wireless network or internet connection.
- Further the understanding of the role of such technologies in organizational/social strategies for reducing energy use in communities and facilities.
Fully specify an extensible hardware/software architecture that meets military and commercial requirements, supports the identified energy‐use reduction strategies, and position the system for wide‐scale deployment and commercialization.