As technology continues to evolve, so too does our approach to energy management. With the rollout of smart metering across all domestic properties in Ireland, coupled with the rise of smart, controllable devices, the creation of highly customised energy profiles is now a possibility. Customers with Electric Vehicles, Heat Pumps, PV systems and storage capabilities will play a fundamental role in the transition towards net zero emission energy systems.

The Energy Management and Decision Support System (EMDS) will enable customers to support the energy transition. At its core, EMDS leverages AI to reduce energy demand by intelligently scheduling energy usage away from peak times and promoting the use of renewable energy sources. By automating these decisions, EMDS not only enhances sustainability but also drives down CO₂ emissions and associated energy costs.

The ICOS system will allow customers to navigate through the complex and dynamic environment of the energy market.

Figure 1: Smart Energy Application

Real-world testing

We are now at an exciting phase of the project, with installation, calibration and deployment of i) sensors and associated IoT metering hardware and ii) Edge devices dedicated infrastructure in domestic homes. The EMDS sensors include the use of Inductive Monitoring Clamps to enable access to real-time data from many energy technologies, such as Heat Pumps, Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers and Solar Panels, including associated costs (i.e. power consumption, exportation and storage data together with unit rate and energy market price). Real time data at high granularity will provide real time solutions to reduce generation curtailment, flattening the demand curve by removing demand at peak time and boosting energy usage at night-time. The EMDS is fully integrated into the ICOS infrastructure and networked with the ICOS Cloud Testbed.

Delivering Benefits

With ICOS, customers will gain a deep understanding of their energy usage. The AI Algorithm within ICOS will anticipate future demand by forecasting solar PV output, EV charging requirements and known or anticipated future retail cost signals, empowering prosumers to proactively manage energy generation and storage in alignment with decarbonisation and net-zero goals.

By leveraging advanced Machine Learning techniques for energy forecasting and home-to-home parameter sharing, ICOS will deliver secure, efficient, and cost-effective energy management systems. Moreover, by harnessing Cloud and Edge capabilities for real-time solutions, ICOS will offer reduced data transfers and latency, increased security, and flexibility to tailor to each customer's specific needs, ultimately enhancing customer satisfaction and retention.