IOT APPLICATIONS TO MEASURE RESIDENTIAL ENERGY SOURCES
Aurum is one of the companies in the Netherlands that successfully deploys the Narrowband IoT communication technology. NB IoT enables Aurum and its partners to integrate data of charging stations, gas meters, batteries, heat meters and other energy sources with the databases of energy suppliers. We link them to their back-end, so billing and forecasting are automated. This results in lower costs for the business operations of suppliers and greater customer satisfaction.
LOAD BALANCING AT HOME
Together with Remeha, Aurum has realised pilot setups in houses with which energy streams are made insightful in real time and actively managed (load balancing) in order to use energy as efficiently as possible. In these houses, the following elements are measured and made insightful in real time:
- Smart meter (gas + electricity)
- Charging station for the electric car
- Battery system
- Remeha Heat Pump
- Solar panels
MAKING DISTRICT HEATING VISIBLE WITH IOT
The number of homes that is connected to district heating is growing rapidly. Even though this increase is in line with the energy and climate goals, there are still some obstacles to be overcome. Heat meters are not very transparant. Aurum applies its’ IoT energy solution to measure energy data from heat meters. This data is very useful for energy companies and housing corporations. They can use the collective consumption data to better procure heat volumes and to establish better relationships with the customers on their heat networks.
END TO END IOT SOLUTION AND ENERGY APP HUISBAASJE
Update: Since December 2019, the Huisbaasje energy app and brand are owned by Aurum.
In 2016, Consumentenbond, was looking for a technical partner to co-develop an energy proposition. The largest consumer organisation of the Netherlands saw an increasing demand with its’ members in the area of energy saving around the home. The Consumentenbond wanted to provide households with a tool, independent of smart meters, that would allow that people to bundle all their energy administration in one app. Real-time energy consumption, energy bill predictions, past energy bills and integrated switching service. Consumentenbond chose Aurum as a partner because Aurum offered a one-stop-shop for these specs. Our collaboration is a great example of an A to Z solution that Aurum can build for our customers.
DETERMINE BUILDING ENERGY PERFORMANCE BY COUPLING SMART THERMOSTAT AND AURUM DATA
In this innovation project, initiated by Aurum, we wanted to use energy data to determine the real energy label of a building. In today’s standards, the energy label of a house is determined by a (pretty generalist) checklist. The methods by which the official energy label is determined has been causing consternation across different stakeholders for years. Checking off boxes about how many double-glazed windows a house is not the best way to establish indicators for the actual energy performance of the property. Fact is: there are too many variables that factor in. The most advanced method to truly measure the energy performance is by combining smart thermostat data with a gas (or heat) monitor data. Measuring how much energetic value is needed in order to keep the house warm during a set amount of time allows us to determine a plausible energy label. We developed an algorithm that uses these combined measurements on our platform and exports an energy performance ratio.
Homy – Smart Homes for elderly safety
René Verhoeven’s dream is for everyone to keep living in their own home independently and safely for as long as possible after their retirement. That is why he founded Homy. The elderly can link family members and healthcare professionals to their Homy. In the event of an anomaly in the house, Homy detects the situation and alerts the persons in question. One example is an unusual gas usage pattern; if the stove is left on by accident, Homy will send out a notification.
GDF Suez (Engie)
Engie wants to offer its clients a system for real-time energy insights. This system must be compatible with every type of electric and gas meter on the French market – quite a challenge, because there are more than 1,000 types in existence! Furthermore, gas meters in France are often located outside the home, which poses additional challenges when it comes to conducting measurements, transmitting the data and supplying power to the system.
We will tell you more about how we solved this problem soon. One thing we can reveal right now is that the solution has been patented, which makes it truly unique!
