Category: Uncategorized

Great news for Energy Twin users! the energy twin evaluation is now available just in time for christmas!

Our new extension, Energy Twin Evaluation is now available for free for all Energy Twin licensees. It doesn’t matter if you are using ET Analytics, ET Interactive or both, ET Evaluation offers a way to easily check your model’s performance, quantify energy savings and provide insight into your data.

Exciting NEWS! One of the projects where Energy Twin is developmental partner has launched in October. 

SmartCoil – The First Real Time Monitoring System for AHU Coils 

SmartCoil by Sensible  revolutionizes the assessment and maintenance of AHU coils by introducing a cutting-edge, data-driven solution. Unlike traditional methods such as visual inspection and pressure drop testing, which are prone to inaccuracies, SmartCoil utilizes a network of strategically placed sensors feeding data to a cloud-based machine learning algorithm. This innovative approach translates raw coil data into actionable insights displayed on the SmartCoil dashboard and compatible BMS systems. 

In the energy industry, professionals face challenges predicting and forecasting energy consumption. 

Energy Twin & Long-term Forecast

Forecasting future energy consumption for extended periods, such as until the end of the year, presents a unique challenge that traditionally requires hours spent in tools such as Excel. Energy Twin can help with that – with just one click allowing us to forecast the total kWh consumption.

While we understand the significance of cost savings, precise figures can be influenced by various uncontrollable factors. Nevertheless, our solution sets itself apart with continuous updates to the forecast, leveraging real-time measurements. Through this approach, Energy Twin ensures predictions remain relevant and reliable, providing users with up-to-date information for well-informed decisions, with the flexibility of monthly or daily granularity.

Using ChatGPT has become a huge trend.  It is supposed to be able to make many professions more efficient – why not energy engineers? We have decided to give it a try and integrate it to our Energy Twin extension for SkySpark.

Energy Twin and ChatGPT

We have been experimenting with various ways of summarizing results provided by our SkySpark extension Energy Twin. After successfully integrating OpenAI API into SkySpark we tried various tests, let’s have a look at two of them.

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in demand for EVs. However, there are numerous challenges associated with EV charging, such as multiple EV charging strategy optimization. Numerous factors affect optimal charging strategies, but we will focus on the following:

1) Power Demand 

When installing multiple EV chargers in an office building, one must carefully consider power demand in order to avoid exceeding the maximum power demand resulting in hefty costs.

2) Variable Energy Price

Flat energy tariffs are becoming obsolete, and nowadays, time-of-use tariffs are on the rise resulting in price optimization.

The solution to multiple EV charging lies in mathematical optimization, which seeks to minimise the cost of electrical energy purchase while taking into account all constraints. We need to know the prediction of the building’s electrical energy consumption, maximum power demand, electrical energy price profile, and EV information. A flexible charging strategy for new arrivals should also be considered.

We will look at three different scenarios of multiple EVs charging under simplified conditions. At 8 a.m., eight EVs will arrive, each with the following characteristics:

30% initial battery state
scheduled departure time at 4 p.m
requested battery state at the time of expected departure 90%
battery capacity 80 kWh
maximum charging power 50 kW

Simulations

Using Energy Twin, the building’s power load predictions are calculated. In all three experiments you will see the energy profile of the office building, individual arrival of the EVs and the electrical energy price prediction for the day. 

The first scenario shows the basic strategy – EVs are charged immediately after being plugged in. The possible drawbacks of this strategy lie the high cost of energy in the morning, which correlates with the EVs‘ arrival time and high power demand.

In our previous post, we discussed how to manage an extensive building portfolio using Energy Twin and machine learning. This time we will show you how it can be further applied to another real-world example.

Energy Twin models can be used to forecast the future energy consumption profile, from a few hours to a few days ahead. This prediction was used as part of the control system for a virtual power plant’s Combined Heat and Power (CHP).

The virtual power plant’s goal is to use CHP and sell electrical energy when it is beneficial. In this case, heat is generated by both gas boilers and CHPs; however, CHPs have a lower gas-to-heat efficiency than gas boilers. As a result, the operator must prioritise gas boilers even if it contradicts the virtual power plant’s trading plan. Exceeding the contracted daily maximum gas consumption is far more expensive than the discrepancy in electrical energy delivery.

To avoid costly penalties, the model predicts daily gas consumption and is updated every hour. If a risk of exceeding occurs, the operator receives a notification with detailed information and suggested actions so that local technicians can respond in advance, if needed.