Improving Energy Consumption Forecasting with Contextual Awareness: A Hybrid Deep Learning Perspective

Accurate energy consumption forecasting is becoming increasingly important due to rising global energy demands driven by economic development and population growth. Traditional forecasting models often overlook the impact of contextual factors, such as weather conditions and occupancy trends, which are essential for precise predictions. In this study, we propose a hybrid context-aware simulated scenario generation (CA-SSG) approach that integrates context space theory (CST) with deep learning techniques. This method leverages key contextual features to generate synthetic energy consumption data that more accurately mimics real-world patterns. Using the ASHRAE Great Energy Predictor III dataset, which includes diverse building types across various climates, we demonstrate the effectiveness of CA-SSG. The results show significant improvements in model performance, with reductions in Kullback-Leibler divergence (5%), increases in Pearson Correlation Coefficient (5%), and decreases in computation time compared to traditional approaches. These findings highlight the advantages of contextually enriched generative models for developing smarter energy management systems, enabling more accurate energy forecasting, and supporting strategic planning for energy consumption.