Image credit: www.csiro.au
CSIRO and start-up company Ecocentric are working on a system that is able to isolate the electrical ‘fingerprint’ of individual appliances to increase energy efficiency in buildings.
Image credit: www.csiro.au
Developed in collaboration with the CSIRO, the ‘Numen’ energy-efficiency device uses cloud-based technology to monitor energy consumption in real time.
The system brings together a building’s total energy signal, identifies the appliances present, and then separates out appliance-specific consumption data on how much energy the appliance is using.
CSIRO Energy Director Karl Rodrigues said this information will highlight opportunities for more efficient energy use, resulting in cost savings and a reduced carbon footprint.
“The energy domain is experiencing an increased focus in the megatrend ‘digital immersion’, affecting both domestic and commercial energy consumers,” Mr Rodrigues said.
“Our research is helping drive the next wave of productivity and efficiency in energy consumption.”
Ecocentric CEO Tim Bray said he was excited by Numen’s potential to lower energy use in the built environment.
“Numen will be a part of Australia’s contribution to a more energy efficient future,” Mr Bray said.
“There is no waste in nature, that’s a human phenomenon.”
Under the agreement, Ecocentric and CSIRO will work to advance the system over the next six years, with Ecocentric to obtain a licence from CSIRO to the ‘cognitive metering’ technology which identifies individual appliances using a unique signature of high-frequency electrical data.
