Design, Deployment and Performance Evaluation of an IoT Based Smart Energy Management System for Demand Side Management in Smart Grid

The Smart Grid (SG) is the technological development that incorporates digital technologies and advanced communication methods to determine and respond to variations in electricity consumption in order to revolutionize power distribution, transmission, and generation. In the conventional electrical grid, customers remain unaware to their energy usage patterns that not only results in energy loss but also money. The consumers’ usage and consumption standards need to be regulated in order to improve energy efficiency (EE). SG utilizes demand side management (DSM) for energy savings by use of various approaches like financial incentives, subsidized tariffs, and awareness to alter consumers’ energy demand. In smart environments (SE), Internet-of-Things (IoT) is evolving as a significant partner for resource and energy management. DSM in SG must take advantage of smart energy management system (SEMS) developed on smart meters (SMs) and modern technologies like IoT. Using SMs with IoT based technologies makes SEMS more effective in the SG. This paper offers design, deployment, implementation, and performance evaluation of an IoT based SEMS, including SMs as well as IoT middleware module and its related benefits. The proposed SEMS operates online and offers real-time (RT) load profiles (LPs) to customers and suppliers remotely. The customers’ LPs allow suppliers to disseminate and regulate their incentives as well as incite the customers to alter their energy consumption. Furthermore, these LPs serves as an input for developing numerous DSM approaches. The proposed solution is installed and evaluated at 4 different locations of Stylo Pvt. Ltd. Pakistan, which can communicate commands and observe the efficiency of electricity supplied by the utility. Moreover, the RT impact of using separate SM for automated control of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system is shown in terms of power consumption. The RT case study presents the efficacy of the proposed IoT-based-SEMS.