Nonintrusive Load Monitoring Algorithm Using Mixed-Integer Linear Programming

This paper presents a nonintrusive load monitoring (NILM) algorithm based on mixed-integer linear programming. The formulation deals with the problem of multiple switching that arises when disaggregating individual appliance's consumptions from a compound power measurement. Mixed-integer linear constraints are used to efficiently represent the load signatures of each appliance. Also, a window-based strategy is used to enhance the computational performance of the proposed NILM algorithm. The disaggregation can be made using only active power measurements at a low sampling rate, which is available in most energy meters. Moreover, if available, other signatures can be added to the model to improve its accuracy, such as reactive power signatures or harmonics. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using three test cases from the almanac of minutely power dataset. The proposed method is also compared with a disaggregation method called aided linear integer programming. Results demonstrate the ability of the proposed method to accurately identify and allocate individual energy signatures in a computationally efficient manner, which makes it suitable for inexpensive home energy management.