Design of Cloud-Connected IoT System for Smart Buildings on Energy Management (Invited paper)

Building energy management (BEM) system can provide cost-effective energy management solutions for smart buildings. However, the success of BEM is contingent on identifying large energy consuming devices, monitoring energy usage, optimal scheduling of flexible appliances, and distinguishing and controlling energy wastage. To this end, this paper discusses the design of Internet of Things (IoT) for a flexible BEM with the backend analytic that performs analysis on energy usage pattern and the wastage. We present the experimental results of real-time monitoring of consumers’ energy usage in a commercial space to identify the electricity wastage. The experiment is conducted at an office testbed using a comprehensive wireless sensor network. Extensive analysis is done to identify the energy wastage pattern of users for reducing the electricity cost. It is demonstrated that it is possible to reduce significant energy wastage when an office building is equipped with the proposed IoT system. Received on 22 October 2015; accepted on 22 October 2015; published on 01 January 2016