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Internet of Things in the Energy u0026amp; Utilities Sector

Christian Forsberg
February 08, 2016

energylightTo continue my series of blog posts about how to practice the Internet of Things, let’s look at how it can be used in different sectors, and first out is the Energy and Utilities sector. One very interesting possibility with the Internet of Things is to make things visible that are usually not. Such an example is electricity, which is omnipresent in our lives, but still is not something we can see. One important aspect of electricity is it’s price, and that is also not visible in any easy way. Since most energy markets are open and prices vary over time, it could be profitable to keep track of prices, so that you can optimize your use of energy, e.g. wash the clothes when the price for electricity is low. More importantly, this kind of behavior will actually help the energy suppliers as the load on the grid is evened out over time. This in turn will have an impact on overall energy use. The problem is that prices are not easily visible, and it’s a bit cumbersome to keep track of the suppliers web site or even their app. That’s where the Internet of Things can help, like putting a connected smart light in each home that change color to reflect the price variations. Then the whole family (even small children) can get a sense of the current price, and even more interesting, it builds a general awareness of energy use, which is increasingly important in these times of global warming. Here is a video on how such a device can be put together.  

About the author

Global Digital Channels Lead Architect | Sweden
Chris Forsberg is Sogeti’s Global Chief Architect, and his current passion is serverless architectures with microservices, cognitive solutions like chatbots, automation, and beautiful delivery. He has a long background as an architect of digital solutions for many clients on all the major platforms, and love to experiment with new technology.

Comments

2 thoughts on “Internet of Things in the Energy Utilities Sector

  1. “..it builds a general awareness of energy use, which is increasingly important in these times of global warming.” Good point, Christian. And it that way, when everybody is aware of the use, there is a collective strategy that can be voluntarily done.

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