Development of a mobile application for home energy management in smart grids

The current electricity grid in Morocco is facing challenges due to its conventional nature. The conventional sources of energy used are one of the major participants in pollution, and they are inefficient and unreliable in securing the national energy security. Morocco is energy dependent as it imports about 97% of its energy needs. To improve the current situation, the energy in the residential sector needs to be managed in order to reduce peak demand, protect the environment, reduce cost, avoid energy deficit, involve consumer, and efficiently use its renewable energy potential. This paper tackles the building blocks of smart grids, namely, the residential microgrid. The development of a home energy management mobile application on smart devices (phones, tablets, etc.) is presented which has as goals the establishment of a two-way flow of power and data, and the management of residual energy. In addition, the mobile application architecture and design are detailed. Methods for testing the application are suggested, and finally, algorithms for home energy demand optimization are presented as an extension of the home energy management mobile application features.