Hey, IoT for energy efficiency and sustainability adventurer. Welcome to our blog post.
“Mostly, the electric energy of the entire world is generated in power plants by burning fossil fuels, which are non-renewable resources and produce adverse impacts on the environment” (Mian et al, 2023)
The traditional method of generating energy is not efficient, neither are they sustainable to our environment. These traditional methods raise a lot of environmental concerns which have been on the news in recent times.
In 2004, the European Union on Environment, through a publication on their official website, “Environmental Impact of Energy”, observed that; We can link some important environmental issues like air pollution, climate change, water pollution, thermal pollution, and solid waste disposal to the production and consumption of energy.
The European Union also claims that; the main source of air pollution in cities is the burning of fossil fuels, which releases air pollutants into the atmosphere.
At this junction, the world is in need of a viable solution for managing energy generation in less harmful and sustainable ways. This is where IoT for energy efficiency and sustainability takes significance.
In this blog post, we shall be discussing some critical areas of IoT for energy efficiency and sustainability. Among other important areas, we will be focusing on the roles that IoT is playing in energy management.
DISCOVER THE SMART GRIDS IOT REVOLUTION FOR EFFICIENT ENERGY GENERATION AND DISTRIBUTION
We will also discuss how technology is revolutionising smart cities with smart grids and in sustainable energy management with IoT. Also, the blog post will touch on environmental sustainability through IoT.
Understanding the IoT for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability
There is a lot of ongoing disruption in the world through IoT technologies. The new technology is playing a leading role in revolutionising different industries and augmenting human lives. One way that it does this is in the area of energy efficiency and sustainability.
IoT for energy efficiency and sustainability – what does this really mean?
First off, let’s clear this; IoT devices and connectivity are capable of monitoring energy-consuming systems as well as controlling them in real time. The technology uses data-driven strategies that lower waste, maximise operations, and find areas for improvement.
With this, IoT can be very strategic for improving energy efficiency.
Its benefits and roles also extend to disrupting smart cities, smart grids, and smart buildings which are all good for our environment.
Therefore, we can agree that IoT is essential in helping us achieve our environmental objectives.
Smart buildings and IoT for sustainability
In the words of Pouyan Pourbeik, contributing to the trend, IoT for energy efficiency and sustainability, he claims that; “organizations in any industry can adopt IoT devices, including smart thermostats and lighting systems, to reduce their electrical consumption and make buildings more sustainable.” His claim also includes the special roles that IoT plays in smart buildings.
Let us explore this better.
Implementing smart buildings and IoT for sustainability allows efficient monitoring of energy consumption. The technology in smart buildings also enables automatic adjustments to lower energy demand and increase efficiency.
All of these have a significant impact on the environment and the overall cost of energy use.
In smart cities, businesses, hospitals, and houses can install IoT sensors all over for feedback and data gathering in real-time energy. This also includes real-time analysis of energy consumption and demand.
Utilising IoT in Smart Facilities
Large buildings with facilities like hospitals, manufacturing companies, storehouses, etc, can independently utilise IoT in the monitoring of huge items. For example, these items may include lighting systems, large refrigerated units, machinery, air conditioning, and water heating systems.
Integrating AI algorithms into IoT in smart buildings can automatically enhance data analytics. A typical example is identifying and analysing historical trends once there is sufficient data gathering in the central system over time.
IoT Real-Time Data – Smart buildings and IoT for sustainability
Smart buildings and IoT for sustainability include using the real-time data that IoT devices generate to also reveal in real-time, current trends in energy use by major systems. the trends can be clear indicators of a drop in demand or a rise in demand.
They may also just be indicating some issues of malfunctioning or ageing equipment. Whatever the outcome of the analysis of data, IoT helps to ensure that these insights are timely, quickly revealed, precise and accurate. Most importantly, they help in the making of informed decisions.
Therefore, organisations and businesses can use the data and insights from IoT sensors to initiate prompt maintenance or proactive actions. With this new and effective culture, they will be able to adequately prevent energy waste, especially by malfunctioning or ageing equipment.
Also, smart buildings and IoT for sustainability enable facility managers to easily identify target areas within a building. These are areas that need to improve energy use or optimisation.
All these can be achieved by making use of the available data on energy consumption throughout the building.
Two Common Important Energy-efficient IoT Devices and Technology
There are two major energy-efficient IoT devices and technologies for effective monitoring of energy use and optimisation in smart buildings.
These are smart thermostats and lighting systems.
IoT Smart Thermostats for Smart Buildings
In implementing IoT for energy efficiency and sustainability in smart buildings, you need IoT smart thermostats. These IoT devices help in cutting the cost of heating and cooling systems in the building.
IoT Smart Thermostats are built and enabled to improve temperature control with automation. with the power of automation and other features in smart thermostats, smart buildings can optimise energy consumption.
How Smart Thermostats Optimise Energy Consumptions?
IoT sensors, including smart thermostats, have the ability to learn from data and automatically adapt room temperature based on occupancy and habit.
They can also generate monthly reports from generated data and offer useful trends on different consumption patterns and visibility recognition.
With these reports, IoT smart Thermostats can provide guidance for finer-grained temperature zones and vent control.
IoT Smart lighting systems for smart buildings
Another energy-efficient IoT device and technology is the smart lighting systems. these are very good in smart buildings. They are allowing Wi-Fi-enabled LED lights to power their automation control mechanism.
Using such features, they can offer significant energy savings services. For example, they set up automatic control functions based on schedules, motion, or sound to turn on and off lights. This enables the prevention of excessive lighting energy use and energy conservation.
Why Smart Energy-efficient IoT Devices and Technology are Important for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability
Even when no one is in the room, offices, houses, and other business spaces sometimes leave their lights on all day. This is not efficient energy management as it wastes large volumes of electricity. However, with IoT-based energy monitoring and control, such problems of waste can be solved.
IoT-based energy monitoring and control devices help businesses and people to benefit from more energy-efficient lighting solutions. The technologies help to optimise the duration of lights on. You can use them for the programming of smart lighting in a way that suits specific needs.
Therefore, IoT for energy efficiency and sustainability through the use of energy-efficient IoT devices and technology is possible. The technology offers energy-saving optimisations which benefit the buildings and our environment.
Smart Grids IoT Solutions for Reducing Energy Consumption During Peak Hours
Implementing IoT solutions for reducing energy consumption during peak hours is important in smart grids. The technology offers smart grids different options in optimising energy generation and distribution. It also enables smart grids to monitor and control power supply.
Smart grids use IoT smart metering systems to predict energy consumption patterns and behaviours. It also studies trends and uses all the data and insights to balance management. For example, smart grids can monitor power fluctuation during the day, at night and in different seasons. It can also collect relevant data based on locations.
Smart grids can for example predict when power consumption will be high and make adjustments in consumption prices. Usually, it knows when to increase prices and when to drop prices. IoT devices can lower a building’s peak-hour electricity use and costs in one of two ways, or in both.
- Through the use of IoT devices like the smart lighting system and thermostats. Smart building facility managers can monitor energy use in real-time.
This enables them to adjust the schedule of energy use for certain electronics in order to lower demand during peak hours.
This allows some of the larger devices to be operated on the less expensive, off-peak electricity rates.
An excellent example here is that managers can program the washers and dryers to operate in the evening when consumption is low.
- Auto Monitoring and Control.
Here, utility companies organize programs with energy consumers to inform them of changes. Also, during peak hours, and when demand and prices are very high on the smart grid, quick notifications are sent to users to help them maintain minimum energy consumption.
For example, through IoT devices, smart buildings can turn off high energy-consuming appliances at peak hours. These appliances can, however, be turned on when demand and prices have dropped. Businesses that engage in demand response initiatives might benefit financially from the utilities’ financial incentives.
IoT In Transportation For Energy Efficiency
According to Marc Bielas (2019), The transportation industry on the global level “makes up 20 percent of global energy use and 50 percent of oil consumption. Urban transportation, which accounts for 40 percent of global energy expenditure on transportation, makes up 8 percent of the world’s total energy consumption. It’s also one of the largest contributors to pollution and CO2 emissions.”
The transportation industry is an energy-intensive and high-emission industry. However, implementing IoT for energy efficiency and sustainability solutions helps in reducing the impacts.
The implementation of sustainable energy management with IoT in transportation offers more benefits. For example, smart cities are exploring modern public transportation systems that are driven by IoT devices. This allows for the connection of automobiles for optimal driving experience and fuel efficiency.
Also, IoT in transportation for energy efficiency offers advanced and smart ways for route optimisation. This helps drivers in public transport and even those in the supply chain to cut down on needless miles.
Route optimisation helps in minimising pollution and CO2 emissions as well as reducing wear and tear on the car, thereby prolonging its lifespan.
Safety as a Role of IoT In Transportation
IoT offers other important benefits in the transportation industry, including areas of safety. The technology helps maintain uninterrupted cold chains and high-security standards.
IoT in the transportation industry is also often necessary in enhancing the safe transportation of sensitive cargo, such as medications.
For example, if a medicine is broken it is no longer safe for use and this results to a waste.to this end, the supply chain implements the use of IoT to precisely track circumstances surrounding medicines in the supply chain.
This results in automatic assurance that things are delivered in the intended way. Additional uses include recording collisions or shocks, which is crucial for safeguarding electronic goods.
The Smart Grid Renewable energy integration through IoT
The smart grid, which is a modern innovation with more efficiency has taken over the roles of conventional electrical networks. When integrated with IoT technologies, it offers energy efficiency and sustainability.
One of the main contributions of IoT-enabled smart grids is the use of IoT smart sensors and smart metering systems, IoT devices and connectives for power-generating facilities that use sustainable energy at different levels.
In the IoT-enabled smart grid system, there is two-way communication between IoT-connected devices and machines. This enables the automatic detection and response to human needs. This is
The IoT for energy efficiency and sustainability-enabled smart grid offers reliability and affordability. This keeps it ahead of the traditional electricity system.
Using the IoT-enabled smart grid, utilities and energy consumers can easily generate and analyse useful data. From the generated data, IoT enhances data analytics and machine learning to help reduce energy consumption and costs.
Benefits of IoT Smart Grid for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability
One of the benefits of IoT smart grids is that the technology helps manage wastes of energy resources and safety. By this, smart grids increase energy efficiency and optimise energy consumption.
The use of IoT-enabled smart grids in homes and entire cities is very important because the technology can optimise energy use while monitoring and controlling it in real time. IoT Smart grids achieve all of these while protecting the environment and the interests of their residents/consumers.
IoT smart grids also offer improved visibility of all grid components. These include the loads, equipment, transmission lines, and appliances. The modern and smart electricity system also enables utility managers to identify issues at an early stage so as to take appropriate and preventive action.
The modern electricity system offers effective and efficient ways of avoiding costly and dangerous issues. Issues like unexpected outages and unwanted downtimes as a result of lack of maintenance are included here.
Overall, an IoT-based smart grid system offers insight, visibility, control, and communication into the process of energy use in addition to other benefits. It is a modern and smart technology for electricity systems that are currently supporting the wider adoption of green energy.
Oh yes, since it is IoT-enabled, smart grids support lower emissions from lower energy waste that is enabled. Also, the architecture of the IoT-enabled smart grid system makes it possible to integrate renewable energy sources into the system, thus increasing public access to clean energy sources.
Therefore, looking at these benefits of IoT-enabled smart grid, we can say that IoT for energy efficiency and sustainability is a sure way to go.
IoT for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability: Here is Our Conclusion
In conclusion, the adoption of IoT for energy efficiency and sustainability is becoming increasingly vital in our quest for a greener and more sustainable future. As the world grapples with the environmental consequences of traditional energy generation methods, IoT technology offers a promising path toward mitigating these challenges.
So in summary, IoT for energy efficiency and sustainability is the way forward, offering a comprehensive and effective solution to the environmental challenges posed by traditional energy generation methods. By adopting IoT technology, we can enhance energy efficiency, reduce waste, and promote sustainability, ultimately contributing to a cleaner and greener future for our planet.
