When Things Matter: A Data-Centric View of the Internet of Things

With the recent advances in radio-frequency identification (RFID), low-cost wireless sensor devices, and Web technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT) approach has gained momentum in connecting everyday objects to the Internet and facilitating machine-to-human and machine-to-machine communication with the physical world. While IoT offers the capability to connect and integrate both digital and physical entities, enabling a whole new class of applications and services, several significant challenges need to be addressed before these applications and services can be fully realized. A fundamental challenge centers around managing IoT data, typically produced in dynamic and volatile environments, which is not only extremely large in scale and volume, but also noisy, and continuous. This article surveys the main techniques and state-of-the-art research efforts in IoT from data-centric perspectives, including data stream processing, data storage models, complex event processing, and searching in IoT. Open research issues for IoT data management are also discussed

People centred eco-design: consumer adoption of low and zero carbon products and systems

Literature review, research model and findings of exploratory empirical research on consumer adoption and effective use of low and zero carbon technologies ranging from a hybrid car to solar water heating systems

The implementation of energy sharing using a system of systems approach

There is an increasing demand for renewable energy and consumers need more procurement options to meet their needs. Energy sharing provides a peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace where prosumer electricity is redistributed to fellow energy-sharing community participants. This redistribution of prosumer electricity provides consumers with additional electricity suppliers, while also decreasing the load on the utility company. Though significant progress has been made regarding research and implementation of energy sharing, there is still room for growth when evaluating energy-sharing communities and defining appropriate community coordination based on end-user needs. The first contribution in this work identified nine characteristics of energy-sharing communities as a decentralized complex adaptive system of systems (DCASoS). Considering each characteristic before determining community coordination is vital to ensure ample participation within the energy-sharing community. The second contribution was the exploration of a two-stage stochastic programming model as an alternative to the classic energy distribution business model. The third contribution compares three behavioral theories to identify the best fitting model to predict interest in participating in an energysharing community. This research provides companies with foundational knowledge to develop an energy-sharing community that both fulfills end-user satisfaction and increases robustness of electricity distribution business models --Abstract, page iv

Wearable devices and IoT applications for symptom detection, infection tracking, and diffusion containment of the COVID-19 pandemic: a survey

Until a safe and effective vaccine to fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus is developed and available for the global population, preventive measures, such as wearable tracking and monitoring systems supported by Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructures, are valuable tools for containing the pandemic. In this review paper we analyze innovative wearable systems for limiting the virus spread, early detection of the first symptoms of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 infection, and remote monitoring of the health conditions of infected patients during the quarantine. The attention is focused on systems allowing quick user screening through ready-to-use hardware and software components. Such sensor-based systems monitor the principal vital signs, detect symptoms related to COVID-19 early, and alert patients and medical staff. Novel wearable devices for complying with social distancing rules and limiting interpersonal contagion (such as smart masks) are investigated and analyzed. In addition, an overview of implantable devices for monitoring the effects of COVID-19 on the cardiovascular system is presented. Then we report an overview of tracing strategies and technologies for containing the COVID-19 pandemic based on IoT technologies, wearable devices, and cloud computing. In detail, we demonstrate the potential of radio frequency based signal technology, including Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Wi-Fi, and radio frequency identification (RFID), often combined with Apps and cloud technology. Finally, critical analysis and comparisons of the different discussed solutions are presented, highlighting their potential and providing new insights for developing innovative tools for facing future pandemics

Ten questions concerning integrating smart buildings into the smart grid

Recent advances in information and communications technology (ICT) have initiated development of a smart electrical grid and smart buildings. Buildings consume a large portion of the total electricity production worldwide, and to fully develop a smart grid they must be integrated with that grid. Buildings can now be ‘prosumers’ on the grid (both producers and consumers), and the continued growth of distributed renewable energy generation is raising new challenges in terms of grid stability over various time scales. Buildings can contribute to grid stability by managing their overall electrical demand in response to current conditions. Facility managers must balance demand response requests by grid operators with energy needed to maintain smooth building operations. For example, maintaining thermal comfort within an occupied building requires energy and, thus an optimized solution balancing energy use with indoor environmental quality (adequate thermal comfort, lighting, etc.) is needed. Successful integration of buildings and their systems with the grid also requires interoperable data exchange. However, the adoption and integration of newer control and communication technologies into buildings can be problematic with older legacy HVAC and building control systems. Public policy and economic structures have not kept up with the technical developments that have given rise to the budding smart grid, and further developments are needed in both technical and non-technical areas

A survey of recommender systems for energy efficiency in buildings: Principles, challenges and prospects

Recommender systems have significantly developed in recent years in parallel with the witnessed advancements in both internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Accordingly, as a consequence of IoT and AI, multiple forms of data are incorporated in these systems, e.g. social, implicit, local and personal information, which can help in improving recommender systems' performance and widen their applicability to traverse different disciplines. On the other side, energy efficiency in the building sector is becoming a hot research topic, in which recommender systems play a major role by promoting energy saving behavior and reducing carbon emissions. However, the deployment of the recommendation frameworks in buildings still needs more investigations to identify the current challenges and issues, where their solutions are the keys to enable the pervasiveness of research findings, and therefore, ensure a large-scale adoption of this technology. Accordingly, this paper presents, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the first timely and comprehensive reference for energy-efficiency recommendation systems through (i) surveying existing recommender systems for energy saving in buildings; (ii) discussing their evolution; (iii) providing an original taxonomy of these systems based on specified criteria, including the nature of the recommender engine, its objective, computing platforms, evaluation metrics and incentive measures; and (iv) conducting an in-depth, critical analysis to identify their limitations and unsolved issues. The derived challenges and areas of future implementation could effectively guide the energy research community to improve the energy-efficiency in buildings and reduce the cost of developed recommender systems-based solutions.Comment: 35 pages, 11 figures, 1 tabl

PERSPECTIVES ON THE PROSUMER ROLE IN THE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SYSTEM

Climate change and the ever-growing demand for energy are pushing us to find new ways to manage energy production, distribution, and consumption. This energy transition is enabled, for example, by the digitalization, decentralization, and democratization of the energy system. The energy system is already transitioning from fossil-fuel and large power-plant–based generation toward a flexible system based on renewable energy sources. Traditional transmission grids are being replaced by smart grids enabled by digitalization that facilitate bi-directional flows of information and energy. At the consumption end, smart energy meters, energy monitoring devices and applications, and renewable energy technologies such as solar photovoltaic and battery storages empower energy consumers to evolve into prosumers: the producers and consumers of energy. These prosumers, also referred to as active consumers and energy citizens, are envisioned to play an important role in the sustainable energy system in the future. While the energy prosumer role has gained more research attention during the past few years, plenty of gaps in completely understanding energy prosumerism still remain. This research focuses on studying the prosumer role in the sustainable energy system. I study the enablers and activities of energy prosumers and explore how the growing number of prosumers may influence the socio-technical energy transition. The research presents two main perspectives on prosumerism; it explores both the micro and macro-level influences on the energy prosumers. The main research fields of this study are sustainability transitions, innovation studies, and policy. Based on theory and literature review, a novel research framework synthesizing the theoretical concepts and earlier research related to prosumers is introduced. From the methodology viewpoint, a pragmatic research approach and mixed methods are used to explore the enablers for prosumerism as well as prosumer activities and their impact on the ongoing energy transition. The research results are displayed in the form of six articles published in international peer-reviewed journals and conferences. The first two articles make propositions about the prosumer role as part of the changing socio-technical energy and innovation system. The next two articles focus on understanding the micro-level impact on the energy prosumers and examine the producer–consumer, in particular, as a co-developer of energy-related innovations. The remaining two articles address the impact of macro-level policies on prosumers. Overall, this research contributes to the understanding of the energy prosumer role in the future sustainable energy system. Theoretical contributions are related to the novel research framework that combines the concepts from the socio-technical multi-level perspective, innovation studies, and policy research as well as offers a more pragmatic framework for inquiry in the context of the changing energy system to observe the prosumer role therein. A specific theoretical contribution is made to the technology acceptance model that is tested in the context of external policy influence. Furthermore, the research contributes to innovation studies and especially to the field of user-centric innovations by bringing new results for understanding the factors behind end users’ collaboration interests. Practical contributions of the study are related to the understanding of the micro-foundations of prosumer interests toward innovation co-creation activities. Practitioners benefit from evidence concerning the differences between consumers and prosumers, which may help them in designing products and services for these different categories. This improved understanding is necessary, for example, to accelerate the diffusion of renewable energy technologies that is crucial for the sustainability transition. Policy- makers may benefit from the findings related to the policy analysis that combines and compares different prosumer activities with policy mixes and calls for a more holistic and systemic approach for the development of the prosumer related policies. While prosumer research has increased during the past decade, many future research avenues for the topic exist. For example, more research on prosumer role as part of the sustainability transition can help in designing better policies as well as products and services for consumers and prosumers. Moreover, systemic activities, such as those related to the integration of electric vehicle smart charging into the power system combined with other prosumer activities, offer opportunities for researchers. Furthermore, research concerning novel prosumer-centric business models, for instance related to energy communities, is needed to accelerate the diffusion of sustainable technology solutions. -- Ilmastomuutos ja kasvava energian kysyntä ajavat meidät etsimään uusia tapoja hallita energian tuotantoa, jakelua ja kulutusta. Energiajärjestelmä onkin jo siirtymässä fossiilisten polttoaineiden ja suurten voimalaitosten tuotannosta uusiutuviin energialähteisiin perustuvaan joustavaan järjestelmään. Sähköverkot on transformoitu digitalisoinnin mahdollistamana älykkäiksi Smart Grid -verkoiksi, jotka pystyvät siirtämään sekä energiaa että dataa molempiin suuntiin tuotannon ja kulutuksen välillä. Kulutuspäässä älykkäät energiamittarit, seurantalaitteet ja - sovellukset sekä uusiutuvien energialähteiden teknologiat, kuten aurinkosähkö ja akkuvarasto, antavat energiankuluttajille mahdollisuuden kehittyä prosumereiksi eli energian tuottaja-kuluttajiksi (engl. prosumer = producer-consumer). Prosumereilla, joihin viitataan myös nimillä ”aktiivinen kuluttaja” ja “energiakansalainen”, on tulevaisuudessa tärkeä rooli kestävässä energiajärjestelmässä. Vaikka prosumerit ovat saaneet lisää huomiota tutkimuksessa viime vuosina, energia prosumerismin ymmärtämisessä on vielä paljon aukkoja. Tämä tutkimus keskittyy selvittämään prosumerien roolia osana kestävää energiajärjestelmää ja sen murrosta. Tutkin prosumereihin liittyviä mahdollistajia, prosumerien toimintaa osana energiajärjestelmää sekä vaikutuksia kestävän kehityksen energiamurrokseen. Tutkimus on luonteeltaan monialainen, yhdistäen innovaatiotutkimusta, transitiotutkimusta ja myös jossain määrin politiikantutkimusta. Tässä pragmaattisessa tutkimuksessa käytetään sekä kvantitatiivisia että laadullisia tutkimusmetodeja. Tutkimuksen tulokset esitetään liitteenä olevien kuuden vertaisarvioidun konferenssi ja -journaaliartikkelin avulla. Ensimmäiset kaksi artikkelia esittävät propositioita prosumerin roolista osana muuttuvaa sosio-teknistä energia- ja innovaatiopelikenttää. Seuraavat kaksi artikkelia keskittyvät ymmärtämään mikrotason vaikutusta näihin toimijoihin ja tutkivat erityisesti energiaan liittyvien innovaatioiden yhteiskehittämistä. Lopuksi kaksi artikkelia käsittelevät makrotason politiikkatoimien vaikutusta prosumereihin. Tutkimuksen pääkontribuutio on ymmärryksen lisääminen kuluttajan muuttuvasta roolista osana energiajärjestelmää. Teoriakontribuutiot kytkeytyvät uusiin tapoihin yhdistää keskeisiä teorioita kestävän kehityksen transitiotutkimuksesta, innovaatiotutkimuksesta sekä politiikan tutkimuksesta. Käytännön elämään vaikuttavat kontribuutiot liittyvät empiirisiin tutkimustuloksiin esimerkiksi tavallisten kuluttajien ja prosumereiden eroista. Tietämyksen lisääminen auttaa teknologia- ja palveluyrityksiä suunnittelemaan tuotteita ja palveluita, jotka sopivat erilaisiin tarpeisiin, joka voi edelleen auttaa nopeuttamaan uusiutuvaan energiaan liittyvien innovaatioiden leviämistä ja siten edistää kestävää kehitystä. Prosumer -tutkimuksessa on edelleen paljon tilaa uudelle tieteenharjoitukselle. Esimerkiksi energiayhteisöt ovat yleistymässä ja tutkimus niiden roolista osana energiajärjestelmää on vasta käynnistynyt. Tutkimalla energiayhteisöjä pystytään lisäämään ymmärrystä niiden vaikutuksesta esimerkiksi sähköverkkoon ja lainsäädäntöön. Toisaalta myös yksittäisten aktiviteettien ja ajureiden tutkimuksessa on vielä paljon mahdollisuuksia. Esimerkiksi systeemiset ja integroidut ratkaisut, kuten sähköautojen käyttäminen osana kysyntäjoustoa, tarjoavat hyviä tutkimusaiheita. Lisäksi erityisesti uudet liiketoimintamallit liittyen prosumereihin ja energiayhteisöihin kaipaavat selkeyttämistä ja kokeiluja sekä regulaation muunnoksia