Our final blog of #IUW17 features a session with Robert Sonderegger and Luke Scheidler from Itron discussing how Itron’s OpenWay® Riva distributed intelligence application for load disaggregation can provide new perspectives into energy usage data.

During this session, Robert and Luke discussed the possibility to deploy load disaggregation in real time with no special equipment at the customer premise. This enables utilities to gain insights to support more effective demand response projects, design better energy efficiency programs, improve customer service and build more accurate load profiles to guide the utility asset planning processes.

The quality of energy disaggregation is directly related to data availability, which includes frequency of interval data, the data elements used and the number of premises. As you increase each of these data elements, you achieve better results and your end use information becomes more accurate. Itron has an advantage in all of these areas, capturing and processing data at a one-second resolution without additional equipment in the circuit panel.

Furthermore, in order to deliver distribution deferral using distributed resources, utilities must succeed at targeting, marketing, program planning, measurement and verification, and forecasting. Demonstrating the need for these solutions, the world has become more complicated, creating a need for better predictability, access to data and location-specific information. Real-time energy disaggregation in every meter is a better starting point for these activities, as it is scalable to the population and location specific.

Therefore, the level of accuracy and data granularity needed is dependent on the specifics of each situation. Any use cases that have a distribution benefit or require temporal or locational analysis require highly granular data. With Itron you get a high degree of accuracy without additional hardware, and it enables the full range of use cases.

Understanding how customers produce and consume energy today is key to predicting how they will produce and consume energy in the future. This provides insight into how rates, tariffs and incentives can be used to benefit the grid. Robert took us through the technical aspects—explaining that Itron’s approach using metrology data, measured at high frequency. Since we are developing something that’s completely automated, which updates and evolves over time, we must deal with cases such as a new device being added to a home.

For reference, here is the based flow of the application, as developed to-date:



Thanks for reading our blog, this brings #IUW17 to a close! For more information, please visit our website. We look forward to seeing you next year in Scottsdale, Arizona!