Connected homes - Ambar Living Lab

• Grant number: 18/15382-0
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: September 01, 2019
• End date: August 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Computer Science - Computer Systems
• Agreement: FINEP - PIPE/PAPPE Grant
• Principal Investigator: Adilson Liebsch
• Grantee: Adilson Liebsch
• Company: Ambar Tech Participações S/A
• CNAE: Fabricação de fios, cabos e condutores elétricos isolados ; Instalações elétricas
• Pesquisadores principais: Caio César Machado e Silva ; Carlos Felipe Rezende Facchini
• Associated researchers: Felipe Halmenschlager Delvan ; Lucas Zago ; Sergio Aristides Castilho Venero ; Thiago Trabach da Cunha

Abstract

Over the past ten years, improvements in communication and measurement technologies have enabled the maturity of load breakdown (or non-intrusive load monitoring) technologies to better estimate and make available the power consumption of individual devices. Non-intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) is an analytical approach used to break down household loads based on a single measurement point. With the right performance characteristics, these technologies have the potential to enable their use across a variety of customer-facing applications and platforms, such as account transparency, detailed demand and power consumption, diagnostics for electrical and electronic equipment, commissioning, efficiency-energy management, load-mode research and demand-response measurement. Energy efficiency is one of the bottlenecks of contemporary society as we have more and more appliances and electronics, and consequently, demand more electricity to keep them in operation. On the other hand, the cost of electric energy has undergone frequent adjustments. Between 2014 and 2017 they represented an average of 31.5% in the country and it is estimated that by the end of 2018 the accumulated increase will reach 44%. Internal studies indicate that the upward trend in electricity prices continues to be above inflation at around 2% per year due to the change in the Brazilian energy matrix, which is increasingly dependent on more expensive sources and a larger transmission system the long distances of the new plants. Therefore, finding creative solutions that provide alternatives to reduce energy cost is consistent with housing programs such as Minha Casa Minha Vida and is the main problem that this initiative aims at solving. The Connected Homes - Ambar Living Lab project meets this demand, targeting an audience that lacks resources and technologies that effectively add value to families during the use of the property, estimated to be approximately 30 years. Connecting houses through sensors installed in the power board and sending this information to a platform dedicated to receiving, analyzing and producing content oriented to the profile of each user's consumption, is the main objective of this proposal. In addition, in order for the solution to be scaled up and to serve different audiences and families, the establishment of a real laboratory, of statistical relevance, and capable of experimenting with several scenarios through User Experience - UX techniques coupled with a structure of data analytics, aim to create a better understanding of the dynamics of household consumption, allowing the generation of objective propositions that help the housing economy by reducing energy consumption. The housing market, where Ambar operates and the technology will grow rapidly in the next years. According to important international consulting firms, it is estimated the construction of 25 million low-cost housing units in Brazil and up to 300 million worldwide. Because it is a low cost product and a free service (value proposition) for the user, the solution presents a great potential for adoption. On the part of the company, it adds value by the socioeconomic aspect provided to the families, valuing the project under construction, as well as by the important applied database that will be reached (intangible value). So is Ambar, contributing to a more sustainable country focused on the quality of life of low-income families. (AU)