Subject: [smartpower-interest] Optimizing energy usage

From: Joe DiAdamo <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2010 10:37:41 -0500

There was a very interesting paper (1) presented at the IEEE PES conference
last month that investigated using game theory to optimize energy usage
across a neighbourhood, rather than just a household. The researchers found
that they were able to save everyone in the group money while minimizing the
discomfort to the individual household.  The study also took into account
time-dependent loads such as completing the charge cycle of a PEVs before a
specific time in the morning.

I suspect that we'll be more likely to optimize schedules and costs if we
look at neighbourhoods or perhaps even broader rather than individual
households. As a result, I think it's important that communication protocols
being considered for Smart Grid support group-based messaging as well as
peer-based and client/server messaging.

As an aside, it would be interesting to see if social networking can be
combined with such schemes. Use the social networking application to create
and manage the electricity sharing groups, including checking geographic
location. The group would then pool their usage and the utility would deal
with the group as a whole, rather than the individual customer. Admittedly,
there would be many privacy and "billing" issues to address, but I like the
concept.

(1) Optimal and Autonomous Incentive-based Energy Consumption Scheduling
Algorithm for Smart Grid

Amir-Hamed Mohsenian-Rad, Vincent W.S. Wong, Juri Jatskevich and Robert
Schober
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
E-mail: {hamed, vincentw, jurij, [email-masked]<[email-masked]>

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Joe DiAdamo,P. Eng.
[email-masked]
416-300-1558