Energy-As-A-Service Provides IoT Opportunities for Smart Buildings
Our world runs on energy. Power is something we usually think of as a utility, but changes in IoT are making us look at it a little differently. Let’s take a closer look at Energy-as-a-Service (EAAS) and how it might provide new opportunities for smart buildings.
First, what is Energy-as-a-Service? To define this, we have to look more closely at the as-a-service trend.
As-a-service means something is delivered to you via the cloud. We’ve used software-as-a-service for years — any time you check your email online, or store information in your Google Drive, you utilize software-as-a-service.
What does that have to do with power utilities?
Energy-as-a-Service is the next logical step for the power industry. While the cloud won’t deliver the power itself, there are several different technologies currently on the market that can reinforce the grid and improve smart buildings. That’s where IoT comes in.
The Internet of things, or IoT, is a broad term that defines anything connected as part of a network, capable of both sending and receiving data. The majority of this network is based on sensors, and it’s these devices that will power Energy-as-a-Service. Current energy production focuses on a centralized grid and while it has served us well in the past, decentralized microgrids are emerging to prevent power disruptions, monitor energy usage and even transition into green energy.
All of these transitions rely on IoT. Networked sensors can provide information about power failures or system problems in real time. Microgrids, or small self-sufficient systems, are already in use in remote areas and island nations where centralized grids are not practical or efficient.
How can IoT help smart buildings moving forward?
The trend toward smart cities and microgrids isn’t only based in practicality — it fuels the growing green movement as a way to make our towns and buildings more energy efficient. By implementing IoT and power as a service, city planners and engineers create the foundation for these new technologies to deploy on a full scale.
Smart lighting, for example, doesn’t only mean replacing your traditional fluorescent lights with LEDs, though that’s one of the first steps and LEDs do use 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs. IoT enabled smart lighting use sensors placed throughout the building to monitor energy usage, and even photosensitive sensors to control the amount of light coming in from the windows. With this information, the system can automatically adjust the brightness of the interior lights. By connecting this system to the Internet, it can check the weather and modify the lighting based on the weather reports — you’ll need more artificial light if it’s foggy or rainy outside, for example.
Power outages aren’t just inconvenient — they can be dangerous for at-risk individuals like the disabled or elderly. During the power outages after Hurricane Irma hit Florida in 2017, 12 elderly individuals died because of the Florida heat.
