The document discusses the impact of big data on energy efficiency in buildings, emphasizing the rise of smart technologies like meters and appliances that generate vast amounts of data. It identifies opportunities for significant improvements in energy efficiency through better data utilization, but also highlights concerns over privacy and cybersecurity. The document concludes that achieving better energy efficiency requires smart design strategies that prioritize data management and integration.

1. 1
Big data for greater
energy efficiency
Prof. Kornelis Blok
Professor Energy Systems Analysis, Delft University of Technology
Director of Science, Ecofys
@kornelisblok
Webinar Leonardo Energy
20 April 2017

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What can you expect?
1. New equipment is entering our buildings
2. Generating lots of data, but what to do with it?
3. Smart energy use can indeed save a lot
4. There are issues around security and privacy
5. So, what is the way forward?

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Smart stuff is entering our homes
Market is estimated to be 26.5 billion US$ (2016)
Navigant Research
https://www.navigantresearch.com/research/market-data-iot-for-residential-energy-customers
Smart meters
Smart appliances
Sensors (presence, air quality,
window and door openings)
Smart plugs
Smart lamps
Smart thermostats

4. 4
When is smart really “smart”?
“What makes a smart thermostat smart is algorithms”
Paige Leuschner, Navigant Research
https://www.energymanagertoday.com/123731-0123731/
“Enable advanced
control of energy-
using systems and
devices in the home”
The Smart Energy Home –
Strategies to Transform the
Region,
Northeast Energy Efficiency
Partnerships
http://www.neep.org/sites/default/fi
les/resources/SmartEnergyHomeS
trategiesReport_3.pdf

5. 5
Smart meters in the European Union
Source: BPIE - Is Europe ready for the
smart buildings revolution?, 2017

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Limits to non-intrusive load monitoring
(NILM)?
Source: Batra et al. - Data driven energy
efficiency in buildings, arXiv,
https://arxiv.org/abs/1404.7227

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Service sector buildings
• Building management systems are common for
most larger size buildings
• Energy monitoring and reporting systems are
long available
– Not widely introduced yet
– Temporal and spatial resolution of reporting is limited
• New data are being gathered and with higher
spatial precision
– Sensors (temperature, humidity, CO2)
– Location-detection (smartphone, iBeacons)

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Established companies and start-ups active
in the field of 2nd generation building
management
Source: Navigant Research Leaderboard Report: Building Energy Management Systems
https://www.navigantresearch.com/research/navigant-research-leaderboard-report-building-energy-
management-systems

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Many reasons to install …
… but energy is not first on the list
• Security (burglar alarm)
• Safety (CO, fire detection)
• Air quality (CO2, VOC)
• Wayfinding (colleagues, workplace, assets)
• Individual adjustment of climate and light
• Building usage optimization
• …. and fun

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Traditionally, this is all the data we gathered
about energy is used in our homes
Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (2010). SURVEY ON HOUSEHOLD ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN 2010.
Adapted from: http://www.stat.si/doc/pub/Household%20energy%20consumption%20survey.pdf

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What to do with all these data?
• What gets measured gets done ….
• New data provide the opportunity to make a step-
change in knowledge about energy use and energy
efficiency
• First priority is to get a much better understanding
of;
– Energy use by appliance or application
– Real-life energy efficiency of equipment
– Developments in energy efficiency and energy use
– Detecting key drivers of energy use

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Current energy statistics
Coal Crude oil Oil
products
Natural
gas
Nuclear Hydro Solar etc. Biofuels Electr. Heat Total
Residential 0.00 - 0.04 6.39 - - 0.02 0.44 1.97 0.26 9.12
Winning
Conversion boilers
Converions in heat pumps
End use
Space heating
Showering
Other hot water
Cooking
Light
Washing machines
Tumble driers
Computer equipment
….
….
Source: IEA Energy Statistics, 2016
(data for the Netherlands, 2014)

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The dream about future energy statistics
Coal Crude oil Oil
products
Natural
gas
Nuclear Hydro Solar etc. Biofuels Electr. Heat Total
Residential 0.00 - 0.04 6.39 - - 0.02 0.44 1.97 0.26 9.12
Winning
Conversion boilers
Conversion heat pumps
End use
Space heating
Showering
Other hot water
Cooking
Light
Washing machines
Tumble driers
Computer equipment
….
….
Source: IEA Energy Statistics, 2016
(data for the Netherlands, 2014)

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But the big prize is of course:
• How to make equipment and buildings more
efficient through the smart use of data?

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Energy use in buildings is significant

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How much more efficient can we get?
Residential buildings
Source of data: Noortje Alders - Adaptive thermal comfort
opportunities for dwellings, Ph.D. thesis, Delft University of
Technology, 2016.
Single-family home
Walls and roof: R = 5 m2K/W
Glazing U = 1.6 W/m2K
No ventilation heat recovery

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How much more efficient can we get?
Office buildings
Energy index
(determines energy efficiency class)
Actualnaturalgasuse(m3/m2)
Source: Sipma et al. –
Energielabels en het
daadwerkelijk energieverbruik
van kantoren, Netherlands
Energy Research Foundation
(ECN), 2017

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What is needed for achieving higher energy
efficiency in buildings?
Residential buildings
• Broad platforms
• Programmability and
interconnectivity of
equipment
• Right hardware
• Supersmart
algorithms
Tertiary buildings
• Integrated and flexible
platforms
• Much more detailed
monitoring
• Data analytics at a
higher level
• Supersmart algorithms
Monitoring and evaluation
of energy savings

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… and unstructured data
People leave traces on social media and through their search activities …
… and people can interact about energy via social media.
Source of data: Search intensity – Google Trends
Degree days – KWA Bedrijfsadviseurs, Amersfoort
Degree-days
(Netherlands)
Search intensity
“isolatie”

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Privacy and cybersecurity
• Limited attention so far
• In tertiary buildings an important concern
• But in residential settings probably even more
risks
• First responsibility with system designers
• Regulatory framework needed regarding data
ownership and use, and security

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Conclusions
• We are in an early stage when it comes to
harnessing new ICT for better energy efficiency
• Nevertheless, the opportunities are very
significant; size of the opportunity to early to tell
• Systems need to be designed with the clear end
of greater energy efficiency in the mind:
– What do want to improve
– What sensors and control hardware is needed
– How do design the best algoritms to get it done
– How to deal with all the data in a secure way

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Contact
Prof. dr. Kornelis Blok
Chair of Energy Systems Analysis
Faculty Technology, Policy and Management
Jaffalaan 5, Room B3.060
2628 BX Delft
The Netherlands
E-mail: k.blok@tudelft.nl
phone: +31-15-27 85751
mobile: +31-6-558 667 36
Twitter: @kornelisblok