Let’s connect every device in every home to the smart grid, and make the grid smarter by getting people to train it.

1. HomeGrid
Smarter Homes. Smarter People. Smarter Grid.

2. The Mission
Let’s connect every device in every
home to the smart grid, and make the
grid smarter by getting people to train it.

3. The Problem
Managing oversupply or
undersupply is a significant
challenge in any energy system.
Smart grids offer a potential
solution but connected devices are
far from ubiquitous. Not everyone
can afford to fill their home with
connected dishwashers, fridges and
lights; while existing Smart Meters
don’t do nearly enough in terms of
energy saving and proactive grid
management.

4. The Solution
Connecting one HomeGrid plug in
any home connects every device in
that home to the HomeGrid Cloud,
while creating a more collaborative
relationship between the supplier
and the customer. Smarter homes,
and smarter customers, mean a
smarter grid and reduced peak
demand.

5. Technology in the Home
Current Clamp
+
Smarter Plug

6. Technology in the Cloud
Signal Processing
+
A.I. / Machine Learning

7. Technology in the Hand
Mobile Application
+
Homeowner Feedback

8. Technical
Research &
Development
Technical R&D will focus on
three strands of work in the
proof of concept phase of
the project.
HD Signal Capture
& 5G Data Transit
Cloud Signal Analysis
& Machine Learning
Household Engagement &
Algorithm Training

9. Business Model
Innovation
The business model will
have to be designed to be
adaptable to multiple
markets and energy supply
and consumption contexts.
These are some of the
models that the system may
need to be able to target.
Public Sector Energy
Infrastructure Financing
Energy Company
Efficiency
Direct to Consumer
Product Development

10. Use Case 1 - Device Replacement Credits
The energy company, with information on the
creditworthiness of the customer, and the performance of
their devices, can message a householder saying “your
hairdryer is drawing more power than it should. Buying a
new one would save you £3 per month. We’ll give you credit
for a selection of new, more energy efficient hairdryers and
take payment out of your electricity savings, so you won’t
pay a penny more”

11. Use Case 2 - Peak Smoothing Incentives
Instead of relying only on energy pricing to smooth peak
load, offer incentives (credits, nectar points, smart / eco
devices) for customers turning off appliances at peak
times. Having visibility on device energy draw will enable
this to be micro-targeted to the specific device, e.g “we
notice you leave your computer on in the evening when
you’re out of the house. Turn it off and we’ll give you a point
for every day it’s off between the hours of X and Y”

12. Use Case 3 - The Conversational Home
Smart meters tend to have a limited time over which the
novelty of having knowledge of energy usage in the whole
home is an effective incentive to reducing energy usage.
Having detailed knowledge of consumption to the device
level will enable the design of a conversational relationship
between the home and the homeowner. E.g. a push
notification or SMS asking “It looks like you’re out at the
moment but your iMac is still on. Shall I shut it down?”.

13. “If it's inaccessible to the
poor, it's neither radical
nor revolutionary.”

14. Relevant Research
Pattern Recognition for Fault Detection, Classification, and
Localization in Electrical Power Systems
http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=14
96&context=dissertations
Appliance Recognition from Electric Current Signals for
Information-Energy Integrated Network in Home Environments
https://vision.kuee.kyoto-u.ac.jp/japanese/happyou/pdf/Kato_2
009_IC_110.pdf