Cloud-based visual analytics for smart grids big data

Smart meters are a key technology to transfer information between service providers and end-users. However, the massive amounts of data evolving from smart grid meters used for visualization and control purposes need to be sufficiently managed to increase the reliability and sustainability of the smart grid. Interestingly, the nature of smart grids can be considered as a big data challenge that deals with huge amounts of data and their analytics. Therefore, this unprecedented smart grid data require an effective platform that elevates the smart grid in the big data era. This paper presents a visual analytics framework that can promote the sustainability of the smart grid. An application of the framework has been applied on a smart grid that contains over 6,000 smart meters for dynamic demand response visualization. Further, another application on data that includes micro-generators including an electrical vehicle is presented. The findings suggest that the framework is feasible in performing visual analytics and further smart grid data analytics.