SMARTGREENS 2016 Abstracts

Area 1 - Energy-Aware Systems and Technologies
Full Papers Short Papers
Area 2 - Sustainable Computing and Communications
Full Papers Short Papers
Area 3 - Smart Cities
Full Papers Short Papers

Area 1 - Energy-Aware Systems and Technologies

Full Papers
Paper Nr: 13
Title:

Determination of Parameters of Adaptive Law for the Control of an Off-grid Power System
Authors:

Konstantin Suslov, Svetlana Solodusha and Dmitry Gerasimov
Abstract: The paper presents the results of a study of an off-grid electric power system that contains typical generation and load devices. The aim of the study is to develop an algorithm for selecting the optimal parameters of adaptive control law of the energy characteristics in the off-grid power system at the connection point of a varied load. To this end a simulation experiment was carried out and its results were used to numerically model the off-grid power system. The authors apply a known method of modelling the complex multi-parametric systems represented by the Volterra integro-power series. Standard approaches to the measurement of dynamic performance were applied to identify a transient response of the system.
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Paper Nr: 17
Title:

A Predictive Model for Smart Control of a Domestic Heat Pump and Thermal Storage
Authors:

R. P. van Leeuwen, I. Gebhardt, J. B. de Wit and G. J. M. Smit
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a predictive model of a thermal storage which is charged by a heat pump and used for domestic hot water supply. The model is used for smart grid control purposes and requires measurement signals of flow and temperature at the inlet and outlet of the storage to determine charged and discharged thermal energy, and electrical energy consumption of the heat pump. The paper reviews possible simulation models and describes a predictive model for the state of charge and for the heat pump power consumption during charging based on experimental data. Simulations are carried out and results are compared with experiments. The model is applied in a case of domestic smart energy control for which results are shown.
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Paper Nr: 21
Title:

A Formal Holon Model for Operating Future Energy Grids during Blackouts
Authors:

Siavash Valipour, Florian Volk, Tim Grube, Leon Böck, Ludwig Karg and Max Mühlhäuser
Abstract: Modern energy grids introduce local energy producers into city networks. Whenever a city network is disconnected from the distribution grid, a blackout occurs and local producers are disabled. Micro grids circumvent blackouts by leveraging these local producers to power a fixed subset of consumers. In this paper, we evolve micro grids to Holons, which overcome the need for fixed subsets and power as much of the city network as possible. We contribute a formal model of Holons and investigate the impact of the Holon concept in a simulation with 10,000 randomly generated city networks. These city networks are based on parameters obtained from a real-world test site in a medium-sized German city. Our results show that the Holon approach can supply an average fraction of 22.08% of any city network, even when fixed micro grids would fail to power the city network as a whole.
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Paper Nr: 25
Title:

Integration of Load Shifting and Storage to Reduce Gray Energy Demand
Authors:

Iván S. Razo-Zapata, Mihail Mihaylov and Ann Nowé
Abstract: The smart grid concept offers an opportunity to design new environmentally friendly energy markets for reducing CO2 emissions. To achieve this goal, we should increase the use and penetration of green energy while softening our dependency on gray (non-environmentally friendly) energy too. In this work we show how load shifting and storage can be incorporated into new energy markets to reduce gray energy consumption. We used multi-agent-based simulations that are fed with real data to analyze the influence of load shifting and storage to reduce gray energy demand as well as the behaviour of prices for gray and green energy. Results suggest that reduction in gray energy consumption is feasible during peak times, i.e. up to 15%. Nonetheless, if the amount of renewable resources is increased 50%, higher reductions can be achieved, i.e. up to 30%. Furthermore, one of the findings also suggests that storage helps to keep the price of green energy low.
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Paper Nr: 27
Title:

Photovoltaic Integration in Smart City Power Distribution - A Probabilistic Photovoltaic Hosting Capacity Assessment based on Smart Metering Data
Authors:

Vasiliki Klonari, Jean-François Toubeau, Jacques Lobry and Francois Vallee
Abstract: Maximizing the share of renewable resources in the electric energy supply is a major challenge in the design of smart cities. Concerning the smart city power distribution, the main focus is on the Low Voltage (LV) level in which distributed Photovoltaic (PV) units are the mostly met renewable energy systems. This paper demonstrates the usefulness of smart metering (SM) data in determining the maximum photovoltaic (PV) hosting capacity of an LV distribution feeder. Basically, the paper introduces a probabilistic tool that estimates PV hosting capacity by using user-specific energy flow data, recorded by SM devices. The probabilistic evaluation and the use of historical SM data yield a reliable estimation that considers the volatile character of distributed generation and loads as well as technical constraints of the network (voltage magnitude, phase unbalance, congestion risk, line losses). As a case study, an existing LV feeder in Belgium is analysed. The feeder is located in an area with high PV penetration and large deployment of SM devices. The estimated PV hosting capacity is proved to be much higher than the one obtained with a deterministic worst case approach, considering voltage margin (magnitude and unbalance).
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Paper Nr: 34
Title:

Utilizing Plug-in Electric Vehicles for Peak Shaving and Valley Filling in Non-residential Buildings with Solar Photovoltaic Systems
Authors:

Konstantinos N. Genikomsakis, Benjamin Bocquier, Sergio Lopez and Christos S. Ioakimidis
Abstract: This paper examines the concept of utilizing plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in large non-residential buildings for peak shaving and valley filling the power consumption profile, given that the energy cost of commercial electricity customers typically depends on both actual consumption and peak power demand within the billing period. Specifically, it describes a hybrid approach that combines an artificial neural network (ANN) for solar irradiance forecasting with a MATLAB/Simulink model to simulate the power output of solar PV systems, as well as the development of a mathematical model to control the charging/discharging process of the PEVs. The results obtained from simulating the case of the power consumption of a university building, along with experimental parking occupancy data from a university parking lot, demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed approach.
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Paper Nr: 41
Title:

Does Transmission Technology Influence Acceptance of Overhead Power Lines? An Empirical Study
Authors:

Barbara S. Zaunbrecher, Marco Stieneker, Rik W. De Doncker and Martina Ziefle
Abstract: For the transmission of electricity across long distances, high voltage direct current (DC) transmission is discussed in Germany as an alternative to the currently used alternating current (AC) as it is more efficient for these distances. Changes in energy infrastructure are known to raise public awareness. However, little is known whether differences in transmission technology are relevant for the public and if so, to what extent. Two consecutive empirical studies were run in which acceptance towards transmission lines operated with DC in contrast to AC was explored. AC and DC power lines were not evaluated differently, yielding overall quite neutral ratings (Study 1) which might be due to a low information level in the public. A closer look (Study 2) showed that giving information on technical and design parameters of the transmission lines used for either AC or DC technology also did not change attitudes substantially. It is therefore concluded that transmission technology alone did not influence acceptance of power lines for the investigated sample. In addition, a need for more information on DC for high voltage transmission was identified. Further research is required on the influence of different power line layout of AC and DC on acceptance.
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Paper Nr: 44
Title:

Enhancing User Comfort Models for Demand Response Solutions for Domestic Water Heating Systems
Authors:

Alexander Belov, Alexandr Vasenev, Paul J. M. Havinga and Nirvana Meratnia
Abstract: Demand Side Management (DSM) solutions for domestic Water Heaters (WHs) can assist consumers benefit financially by optimizing their energy usage. However, users’ dissatisfaction caused by negative impact of DSM on their comfort may force them to reject the provided solutions. To facilitate DSM adoption in practice, there is a need to account for user comfort and to provide users with control strategies to balance energy consumption and their comfort. Comfort models used for WHs typically account for only variability of the temperature of running water. This paper extends such typical user comfort modeling approaches by considering the tap water flow as a possible variable during water activities. The model to relate tap flow and users’ comfort is the first contribution of this paper. The second contribution of this paper is the flow rate control mechanism aligned with the user comfort model by means of the multi-objective optimization. Simulations for different water activities demonstrate that the control mechanism coupled with the suggested user interface can inform the user about multiple trade-offs between electric consumption and user flow discomfort, and thus can inform about possibilities to rationally save energy for water heating. A set of suggestions on how to organize the user interface is the third contribution of the paper.
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Paper Nr: 45
Title:

Orka: A New Technique to Profile the Energy Usage of Android Applications
Authors:

Benjamin Westfield and Anandha Gopalan
Abstract: The ever increasing complexity of mobile devices has opened new, exciting possibilities to both designers of applications and their end users. However, this technological improvement comes with an increase in power consumption, a drain that battery technology has not managed to keep up with. Due to this, application developers are now facing a new optimisation challenge not present for traditional software: minimising energy usage. Developers need guidance to help reduce energy usage while not compromising on the features of their application. Despite research identifying areas of code consuming high energy, developers currently don’t possess the necessary tools to make judgements on their application’s design based on this. This paper presents Orka, a new tool that analyses an Android application and provides feedback on exactly where the application is expanding energy, thus enabling developers to improve its energy-efficiency. Orka profiles an application using user-defined test cases, code injection techniques and bytecode analysis. Feedback provided is the energy usage at the method level as well as any consumption due to hardware used. Moreover, to be useful over the entire development life-cycle, this feedback is compared with feedback from previous versions of the application so as to monitor and improve the energy usage.
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Paper Nr: 52
Title:

Fast Sequence Component Analysis for Attack Detection in Smart Grid
Authors:

Jordan Landford, Rich Meier, Richard Barella, Scott Wallace, Xinghui Zhao, Eduardo Cotilla-Sanchez and Robert B. Bass
Abstract: Modern power systems have begun integrating synchrophasor technologies into part of daily operations. Given the amount of solutions offered and the maturity rate of application development it is not a matter of “if” but a matter of “when” in regards to these technologies becoming ubiquitous in control centers around the world. While the benefits are numerous, the functionality of operator-level applications can easily be nullified by injection of deceptive data signals disguised as genuine measurements. Such deceptive action is a common precursor to nefarious, often malicious activity. A correlation coefficient characterization and machine learning methodology are proposed to detect and identify injection of spoofed data signals. The proposed method utilizes statistical relationships intrinsic to power system parameters, which are quantified and presented. Several spoofing schemes have been developed to qualitatively and quantitatively demonstrate detection capabilities.
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Paper Nr: 54
Title:

Unsupervised Clustering on PMU Data for Event Characterization on Smart Grid
Authors:

Eric Klinginsmith, Richard Barella, Xinghui Zhao and Scott Wallace
Abstract: In the past decade, with the world-wide initiative of upgrading the electrical grid to smart grid, a significant amount of data have been generated by the grid on a daily basis. Therefore, there has been an increasing need in handling and processing these data efficiently. In this paper, we present our experience in applying unsupervised clustering on PMU data for event characterization on the smart grid. We show that although the PMU data are time series in nature, it is more efficient and robust to apply clustering methods on carefully selected features from the data collected at certain instantaneous moments in time. These features are more representative at the moments when the events have the most impact on the grid. Experiments have been carried out on real PMU data collected by Bonneville Power Administration in their wide-area monitoring system in the pacific northwest, and the results show that our instantaneous clustering method achieves high homogeneity, which provides great potentials for identifying unknown events in the grid without substantial training data.
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Short Papers
Paper Nr: 6
Title:

A Survey of Internet Energy Efficiency Metrics
Authors:

Kerry Hinton and Fatemeh Jalali
Abstract: Several metrics have been widely applied to quantify the “energy efficiency” of the Internet and ICT. In this paper we analyse and compare these metrics when applied to telecommunication network equipment, networks and services. We show that different metrics can imply different, and possibly conflicting, strategies for improving energy efficiency. Some guidelines are suggested for the appropriate application of these metrics.
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Paper Nr: 7
Title:

Comprehensive Management Strategy for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles using National Smart Metering Program in Iran (Called FAHAM)
Authors:

Masoud Honarmand, Nader Salek Gilani and Hadi Modaghegh
Abstract: Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles charging management as well as billing solutions may be the most important challenges in the coming years. In this paper, a comprehensive management strategy (CMS) for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) using national smart metering program in Iran (called FAHAM) is proposed. The proposed strategy considers PHEVs charging management and billing solutions as well. An optimization method is applied in order to shift PHEVs’ charging load and maximize load factor.
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Paper Nr: 11
Title:

An Investigation Process for Hybrid Energy Grid Optimization
Authors:

Tae-Gil Noh, Daniel Schwabeneder, Sebastien Nicolas, Maja Schwarz, Anett Schuelke and Hans Auer
Abstract: A hybrid energy network is an energy system operated across different domains of energy grids, where energy can be transformed between energy carriers. It is regarded as one good solution for managing volatile renewable energy sources in a better way. The paper introduces an investigation process that is designed to develop and evaluate co-operative hybrid energy network control strategies. The proposed investigation process consists of two-step holistic investigation with simulation-based and economic-model based analysis. The process is designed to enable multi-aspect investigation on the range of flexibility provided by evolution of hybrid energy grids.
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Paper Nr: 24
Title:

Applicability of True Voltage Unbalance Approximation Formula for Unbalance Monitoring in LV Networks with Single-phase Distributed Generation
Authors:

Ognjen Gagrica, Tadeusz Uhl, Phuong H. Nguyen and J. F. G. Cobben
Abstract: In the hierarchy of power transmission and distribution systems, the three-phase LV distribution networks are most susceptible to voltage unbalance (VU). The main causes are large presence of randomly distributed single-phase loads and, following the latest trends, the increasing presence of single-phase distributed generators. Most widely accepted VU calculation is based on percentile ratio of negative and positive sequence voltage (voltage unbalance factor, VUF). Obtaining sequence voltages is a complex domain calculation and requires simultaneous sampling of three-phase voltages and angles. This is why the existing VU monitoring and mitigation solutions are dominantly three-phase. Without an additional three-phase aggregation device, there is an inherent gap in VU monitoring for single-phase loads and generators. In this paper, the data concentrators for a growing PV micro-inverter niche are identified as an infrastructure that could be exploited to somewhat close this gap. Due to potential technical limitations of PV data concentrators, a non-complex VUF approximation formula is tested as a "light" calculation alternative, by comparing it against conventional VUF. The comparison results are obtained from Monte Carlo load flow simulation for an unbalanced LV network.
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Paper Nr: 26
Title:

Managing Energy Consumption and Quality of Service in Data Centers
Authors:

Marziyeh Bayati
Abstract: The main goal of this paper is to manage the switching on/off of servers in a data center during time to adapt the system with incoming traffic changes to ensure a good performance and a reasonable energy consumption. In this work, the system is modeled by a queue then, an optimization algorithm is designed to manage energy consumption and quality of service in the data center. For several systems, the algorithm is tested by numerical analysis under various types of job arrivals: arrivals with constant rate, arrivals defined by an constant discrete distribution, arrivals specified by a variable discrete distribution over time, and arrivals modeled by discrete distributions obtained from real traffic traces. The optimization algorithm that we suggest, adapts and adjusts dynamically the number of operational servers according to: traffic variation, workload, cost of keeping a job in the buffer, cost of losing a job, and energetic cost for serving a job.
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Paper Nr: 46
Title:

Energy-Management-as-a-Service: Mobility aware energy management for a shared electric vehicle fleet
Authors:

Julien Ostermann and Falko Koetter
Abstract: The combination of sustainable energy generation and transportation is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. In this work, an energy management system is presented which provides energy-managementas- a-service for electric vehicle fleet operators. Energy production and price forecasts are integrated with near real-time telematics data from a shared electric vehicle fleet, to optimize charging profiles for multiple charging sites of fleet operators. For this purpose, system architecture and a proper optimization method enabling different charging strategies are introduced. The presented system is finally evaluated by real world model trails and an optimization benchmark.
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Paper Nr: 60
Title:

Distributed Software Infrastructure for Evaluating the Integration of Photovoltaic Systems in Urban Districts
Authors:

Lorenzo Bottaccioli, Edoardo Patti, Michelangelo Grosso, Gaetano Rasconà, Angelo Marotta, Salvatore Rinaudo, Andrea Acquaviva and Enrico Macii
Abstract: Nowadays, the adoption of renewable energy sources distributed across the city is crucial for planning and developing the future Smart City. An accurate simulation and modelling of energy sources, such as Photovoltaic Panels (PV), is necessary to evaluate both economical and environmental benefits. With the growth of renewable sources in the city simulations of energy production became crucial for the DSO for evaluating retrofits or for network balancing events. In this paper, we present a software infrastructure for simulating the solar radiation and estimating the energy production of a district. The infrastructure simulates the PV production and evaluates the integration of such systems considering real electricity consumption data. In its core, the proposed solution models the behaviours of PV systems taking into account the digital surface of rooftops and sub-hourly meteorological data (e.g. solar radiation and temperature) to compute real-sky conditions. Then, such information is used to feed a model of the hardware components of PV systems to gain more accurate estimations of energy production in the district in real-sky conditions.
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Paper Nr: 71
Title:

Evaluation of an Integrated Intermodal Travel Service
Authors:

Markus C. Beutel, Barbara S. Zaunbrecher, Simon Himmel, Karl-Heinz Krempels and Martina Ziefle
Abstract: Combining heterogeneous mobility services during one single trip, intermodal traveling is hindered by barriers on different levels. Especially, by incorporating (electric) sharing services, e.g., car- or bikesharing, complex travel chains might occur. To provide flexible intermodal mobility to users, integration has to be realized in various areas: Beyond the provision of comprehensive travel information, it is possible to integrate even further on the business model level. Within a large field test of a comprehensive travel information system, called Mobility Broker, perceptions towards an integrated offering of heterogeneous mobility services are examined. Hereby, different services are not only integrated concerning travel information, but also in the area of distribution. Results indicate that the solution has the potential to deliver extensive flexibility for mobility users and to lower barriers towards alternative mobility modes. Nevertheless, transparent implementation is required and capacity issues could form an obstructive bottleneck. Furthermore, data security and privacy issues could be barriers for widespread acceptance of bundled tariffs.
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Paper Nr: 77
Title:

Multiple Matrix Rank Constrained Optimization for Optimal Power Flow over Large Scale Transmission Networks
Authors:

Y. Shi, H. D. Tuan, S. W. Su and A. V. Savkin
Abstract: The optimal power flow (OPF) problem for power transmission networks is an NP-hard optimization problem with numerous quadratic equality and indefinite quadratic inequality constraints on bus voltages. The existing nonlinear solvers often fail in yielding a feasible solution. In this paper, we follow our previously developed nonsmooth optimization approach to address this difficult large-scale OPF problem, which is an iterative process to generate a sequence of improved solutions that converge to an optimal solution. Each iteration calls an SDP of a moderate dimension. Intensive simulations for OPF over networks with a large number of buses are provided to demonstrate the efficiency of our approach.
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Paper Nr: 8
Title:

Wind Farm Layout Design using Cuckoo Search Algorithm
Authors:

Shafiqur Rehman, Syed S. Ali and Syed H. Adil
Abstract: Wind energy has emerged as a strong alternative to fossil fuels for power generation. To generate this energy, wind turbines are placed in a wind farm. The extraction of maximum energy from these wind farms demands an efficient layout of the wind farms. This layout determines the location of each turbine in the wind farm. Due to its sheer complexity, the wind farm layout design problem is considered a complex optimization problem. In recent years, several attempts have been made to develop techniques and algorithms for optimization of wind farms. This paper proposes yet another optimization algorithm based on the cuckoo search (CS), which is a recent optimization method. The proposed cuckoo search algorithm is compared with genetic algorithm which is by far the highest utilized algorithm for wind farm layout design. Empirical results indicate that the proposed cuckoo search algorithm outperformed the genetic algorithm for the given test scenarios in terms of yearly power output and efficiency.
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Paper Nr: 14
Title:

Optimized Cold Storage Energy Management - Miami and Los Angeles Case Study
Authors:

Sebastian Thiem, Alexander Born, Vladimir Danov, Jochen Schäfer and Thomas Hamacher
Abstract: Smart management of cold thermal energy storages could help future sustainable energy systems drawing large shares of electricity from renewable sources to balance fluctuating generation. This paper introduces a model-based predictive control strategy for cold thermal energy storages. A novel ice storage model for simulating and optimizing partial charge and discharge storage operation is developed and validated. The optimization problem is solved using a Forward Dynamic Programming approach. A case study analysis for a very hot and humid location (Miami) and a rather temperate climate (Los Angeles) and for each four building types (apartment building, hospital, office, and school) reveals that total cost savings of up to 20% compared to conventional control strategies are possible.
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Paper Nr: 23
Title:

JouleSense: A Simulation based Platform for Proactive Feedback on Building Occupants’ Energy Use
Authors:

Georgios Lilis, Shubham Bansal and Maher Kayal
Abstract: A significant amount of energy in the buildings can be saved by inducing efficient occupant behavior. The occupant’s awareness tools that have been shown to be effective in achieving energy efficiency gains depend on various computational and estimation algorithms. This paper proposes an energy feedback scheme that relies on a model based, building thermal simulation in order to identify the areas for efficiency improvement. By leveraging the specific mathematical formulation of those models and a dedicated open-source solver, improved computational speed, reduced cost and enhanced interoperability is obtained. This combined with the integration into a building management system (BMS), permits real-time sensing and feedback. Unlike similar studies, this work’s outcome allows the creation of the energy awareness tools that rely solely on validated thermal model simulation, thus increasing their accuracy and potential in the future smart buildings.
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Paper Nr: 28
Title:

Analysis of the Security Anomalies in the Smart Metering Infrastructure and Its Impact on Energy Profiling and Measurement
Authors:

Pallab Ganguly, Sumit Poddar, Sourav Dutta and Mita Nasipuri
Abstract: Security of the smart metering infrastructure, which is a part of the smart grid initiative, intended at transitioning the legacy power grid system into a robust, reliable, adaptable and intelligent energy utility, is an imminent problem that needs to be addressed quickly. Moreover, the increasingly intensifying integration of smart metering infrastructure with other ecosystem applications and the underlying communication technology is forcing both the consumer and the utility provider to meticulously look into the security and privacy issues of the smart grid. To achieve this, improvements on the existing architecture that uses smart meters interacting with smart grid is needed. This architecture would help in consolidation and aggregation of the energy usage and generation as intelligent communicators instead of focusing them as isolated passive units in the energy grid. The study presented in the paper analyses the various existing smart metering infrastructure, threats and vulnerabilities that has the potential to disrupt the operation and deployment of automation systems in smart grids. Furthermore, an elaborate study and subsequent analysis have been made on a live consumer meter setup in a non-invasive manner, which shows the various security loopholes and deficiencies of a large deployment of unattended smart meters. The study identifies the potential gaps and suggests possible measures for a cost effective and robust solution to cater for present as well as future needs.
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Paper Nr: 29
Title:

New Renewable Energy Allocation Algorithms based on Bin Packing in a Smart Home
Authors:

N. Benjamin Sendama, Mehdi Laraki, Aawatif Hayar and Yassine Rifi
Abstract: More and more home owners fit their homes with renewable energy sources. Thus, to capitalize this, they are willing to install intelligent energy management systems to try to reduce their energy bills, which requires optimal use of energy. To deal with this, this paper presents two energy management algorithms, all based on the principle of the bin packing problem. The proposed solutions are built on prioritizing the use of renewable energy produced locally over energy provided by the main grid. A well detailed simulation was carried out to highlight the contribution of the implementation of this solution in a smart home located in Casablanca, Morocco, whose energy needs are from a daily approximation of the habits of the city residents. Moreover, a comparison between the two algorithms was made to showcase the benefits of each, and their difference.
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Paper Nr: 32
Title:

GreEn-ER Living Lab - A Green Building with Energy Aware Occupants
Authors:

Benoit Delinchant, Frédéric Wurtz, Stéphane Ploix, Jean-Luc Schanen and Yves Marechal
Abstract: In the context of doubling energy use worldwide by 2030, with 80% remaining carbon energy, and in which buildings account for more than 40% of the total energy consumption, it is appropriate that buildings contribute "intelligently" to reduce consumption, contribute to the increase of renewable energy production and become a key node of the energy grid related to energy and transport of the eco-city. Moreover, these “smart buildings” will be in the near future aggregating a huge amount of data through numerous sensors. They will be connected to the neighbourhood, to the city and to the territory. Big data analytics and cloud computing will bring new services to inhabitant and citizen. We are presenting in this paper, the smart building “GreEn-ER”, which is a new building in the centre of the eco-city in Grenoble, France. It has been designed with many “green” ideas and is a “living lab” supporting research and teaching in the field of sustainability. This paper is focusing on the energy field and deals with electrical micro-grid interaction.
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Paper Nr: 33
Title:

Analysis and Simulation of Fault Tolerance of a Grid-connected PV Inverter by Z-source Impedance
Authors:

Diego P. Chacón-Troya, Christian Jara Alvarez, Enrique Galarza Pablo and José Manuel Aller
Abstract: This paper proposes the design of a monophasic inverter connected to a residential network by applying Z-Source topology. The proposed models were verified in normal operation “STC” and under short circuit conditions “SC”. The system is presented as coupled to a network without a transformer and with minimum electrical components. The tolerance of the overcurrent or short-circuit current is also analyzed on this topology. The signal’s power is conditioned to find the MPP of the PV panels. Its architecture will be outlined, described and simulated in Matlab’s Simulink®. In order to verify that the design is working properly.
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Paper Nr: 40
Title:

Energy Saving and Efficiency Tool - A Sectorial Decision Support Model for Energy Consumption Reduction in Manufacturing SMEs
Authors:

Samuele Branchetti, Gessica Ciaccio, Piero De Sabbata, Angelo Frascella, Giuseppe Nigliaccio and Marco Zambelli
Abstract: The problem of Energy Efficiency in industry is a hot topic but companies are not still implementing, on a mass scale, energy efficiency actions. One of the most important barriers is that companies are scarcely aware of their consumptions and consider energy as a fixed cost and not as a resource to be managed. In this paper it is proposed a model, based on self-analysis of consumptions, for facing this barrier. On the base of this model, a software tool, Energy Saving and Efficiency Tool (ESET), was designed as a starting point of an energy diagnosis path for SMEs. ESET was developed for textile/clothing sector but the model is general and, starting from it, similar sectorial tools can be developed. The tool provides different kinds of outputs: best practices, for helping companies to improve its own energy performances; energy efficiency indices, compared with reference values; energy use behaviours. Particularly, best practices are selected using a large set of rules, distilled from the experience of professional energy auditors. The analysis of the accuracy and completeness of ESET results was performed on six companies selected among all those involved in ESET testing and application. The results of this evaluation are very encouraging.
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Paper Nr: 50
Title:

Economical Analysis of Flexibility in Micro Grids
Authors:

Angan Mitra, Corinne Touati, Stephane Ploix, Ujjwal Maulik and Nouredine Hadjsaid
Abstract: As energy demand increased and production means diversified, conventional approaches of looking into distribution grids need to evolve. The Smart Grid paradigm introduces new possibilities of real-time market sensing and interaction models between producers and consumers. In particular, by understanding the types of consumers and their potential willingness to adapt their energy demand with price incentives, innovative pricing strategies in the Smart Grid are expected to lead to better production management, profit maximization and end consumers satisfaction levels. In this work we propose a novel framework and a simulation scenario of a global energy network with heterogeneous types of producers and consumers from which different types of behaviors and interactions can be studied.
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Paper Nr: 72
Title:

Aggregating the Flexibility of Heat Pumps and Thermal Storage Systems in Austria
Authors:

Tara Esterl, Lukas Leimgruber, Tarik Ferhatbegovic, Andreas Zottl, Martin Krottenthaler and Bertram Weiss
Abstract: This study analyses the challenges of aggregating the flexibility of heat pumps in Austria. Flexibility can be provided by shifting electrical load to other points in time with the use of thermal storage systems. At first the potential and typical combinations of heat pumps, buildings and thermal storage systems are described. Afterwards different operation strategies and applications in smart-grid context are discussed. To make optimal bids to the market a model is necessary that explains the thermal and electrical dynamics of the system. Therefore a thermal model is combined with an electricity market model. Load shifts can reduce the operational costs of heat pumps around 8-14 %, but can negatively affect their efficiency. At last a technical concept is discussed which allows the exchange of signals between aggregator and pool participants.
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Paper Nr: 73
Title:

Households and Sustainable Green Technologies: A Review
Authors:

Simona Bigerna, Carlo Andrea Bollino, Silvia Micheli and Paolo Polinori
Abstract: There is widespread consensus in the climate research community that households show different attitudes toward the broad spectrum of technologies and policy instruments implemented to reduce CO2 emissions. The aim of this paper is to investigate the monetary aspect of socio-economic acceptability of four sustainable green technologies development: green electricity, energy savings in residential buildings, smart meters and alternative fuel vehicles. We obtained information on willingness to pay, and/or willingness to accept, for such technologies from a sample of 35 papers taken from the literature. We homogenize this information computing an implicit price of a Kg of CO2 avoided, named PCO2. A qualitative analysis is carried out to explain the households’ attitude to avoid CO2 in monetary terms. Results show that on average PCO2 is positive. There are, however, some negative attitudes only in the case of alternative fuel vehicles. In conclusion, empirical results show that households have a favorable attitude toward sustainable green technologies, but further research is desirable to design new policies to make the future of the sustainable society more plausible.
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Area 2 - Sustainable Computing and Communications

Full Papers
Paper Nr: 31
Title:

Correlation-Model-Based Reduction of Monitoring Data in Data Centers
Authors:

Xuesong Peng and Barbara Pernici
Abstract: Nowadays, in order to observe and control data centers in an optimized way, people collect a variety of monitoring data continuously. Along with the rapid growth of data centers, the increasing size of monitoring data will become an inevitable problem in the future. This paper proposes a correlation-based reduction method for streaming data that derives quantitative formulas between correlated indicators, and reduces the sampling rate of some indicators by replacing them with formulas predictions. This approach also revises formulas through iterations of reduction process to find an adaptive solution in dynamic environments of data centers. One highlight of this work is the ability to work on upstream side, i.e., it can reduce volume requirements for data collection of monitoring systems. This work also carried out simulated experiments, showing that our approach is capable of data reduction under typical workload patterns and in complex data centers.
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Short Papers
Paper Nr: 61
Title:

Tailoring DDS to Smart Grids for Improved Communication and Control
Authors:

Alaa Alaerjan and Dae-Kyoo Kim
Abstract: Adopting new technologies in smart grid (SG) enables the improvement of reliable communication. A key factor for SG efficiency is reliable data exchange between different components and domains in the system. SG must allow remote and quick reaction for different events. This is not a trivial task especially with large scale power grids, which requires SG to have a reliable communication protocol. Data Distribution Service (DDS) is introduced as a data-centric middleware standard based on publish-subscribe protocol to address communication needs for distributed applications. DDS supports reliable data exchange between different components using various features such as quality-of-service (QoS). In this paper, we describe how DDS can be tailored to support SG to improve the communication of devices in SG. We first give an overview of DDS and discuss the benefits of applying it to the communication system in SG. We then describe communication requirements and constraints in SG. and discuss how DDS can be tailored to SG with respect to the requirements and constraints.
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Paper Nr: 18
Title:

Power Management of Personal Computers based on User Behaviour
Authors:

Brian Setz, Faris Nizamic, Alexander Lazovik and Marco Aiello
Abstract: It has been shown that up to 64 percent of personal computers in office buildings are left running during after-hours. Enabling power management options such as sleep mode is a straightforward method to reduce the energy consumption of computers. However, choosing the right timeout can be challenging. A sleep timeout which is too low leads to discomfort, whereas a timeout which is too high results in poor energy saving efficiency. Having the users choose their own sleep timeout is not viable as research shows that most users disable the sleep timeout completely, or choose a suboptimal timeout. Unlike existing context based power management systems which use predefined rules, we propose a solution which can determine a personalized sleep timeout for any point in time solely based on the users behaviour. We propose multiple models which have the goal of maximizing the energy savings while minimizing discomfort. The models are tested on the computers of employees of the University of Groningen over several weeks. We analyse the results of the experiments and determine which model performs best. We can potentially save between 4.02 and 17.17 kWh per computer per year, depending on the model that used.
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Paper Nr: 20
Title:

Beyond CPU: Considering Memory Power Consumption of Software
Authors:

Hayri Acar, Gülfem I. Alptekin, Jean-Patrick Gelas and Parisa Ghodous
Abstract: ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) are responsible around 2% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions (Gartner, 2007). And according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) recent reports, CO2 emissions due to ICTs are increasing widely. For this reason, many works tried to propose various tools to estimate the energy consumption due to software in order to reduce carbon footprint. However, these studies, in the majority of cases, takes into account only the CPU and neglects all others components. Whereas, the trend towards high-density packaging and raised memory involve a great increased of power consumption caused by memory and maybe memory can become the largest power consumer in servers. In this paper, we model and then estimate the power consumed by CPU and memory due to the execution of a software. Thus, we perform several experiments in order to observe the behavior of each component.
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Paper Nr: 35
Title:

Object-oriented Modeling and Design of Reverse Logistics Management System using UML
Authors:

Asma Boussellaa and Mourad Abed
Abstract: The work presented in this paper is the modeling of an information system supporting all activities of the reverse logistics(RL). In order to gather knowledge about the current state of the art on this topic, a literature review is established for the available research works which are classified using a suitable criteria. Based on this review, our work consist of developing an information system (IS) design for reverse logistics (RL) management. The proposed modeling is based on an object-oriented analysis approach. The results announced at the analysis step includes the use case diagrams which modeling the dynamic aspect of the system with the actors interacting processes and a class diagram that models the key concepts of information managed in the system. This modeling is generic for a company which takes into account good practices in RL.

Area 3 - Smart Cities

Full Papers
Paper Nr: 10
Title:

The Current Situation and Future Trends of Marketplaces for Mobility Services: Findings From Qualitative Expert Interviews
Authors:

Michael Strasser and Sahin Albayrak
Abstract: The number of marketplaces for services in the mobility domain is growing which makes it difficult to assess these systems according their capabilities, designs and operational approaches. Research has shown that the current state of the art for the mobility service marketplace domain lacks information about current capabilities as well as future trends. Therefore, qualitative interviews with various experts from the field have been conducted to obtain up-to date and relevant information about the currently ongoing efforts and achievements of marketplaces for mobility services. The interviews covered topics like marketplace architecture, functional capabilities, business relationships, communication and data exchange as well as protocol standardization and future trends. The paper presents the obtained information, contributes to the current state of the art as well as illustrates future trends and requirements of service marketplaces. Based upon the obtained information, a comprehensive Morphological Box has been developed which serves as a design framework and facilitates the development of future service marketplaces.
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Paper Nr: 16
Title:

“How Fear of Crime Affects Needs for Privacy & Safety” - Acceptance of Surveillance Technologies in Smart Cities
Authors:

Julia van Heek, Katrin Arning and Martina Ziefle
Abstract: These days, surveillance technologies are a key component of smart and networked cities preventing or detecting crime and giving the residents a sense of safety. On the one hand, safety perceptions can be supported by adequate surveillance technologies (e.g., cameras), however on the other hand, the systematic use of surveillance technologies undermines individual privacy needs. In this empirical study, we explore users’ perceptions on safety and privacy in the context of surveillance systems in urban environments. Using an online survey, 119 users were requested to indicate their acceptance regarding different types of surveillance technologies, differentiating perceived benefits and barriers as well as safety and privacy needs. Also, we investigate acceptance differences towards surveillance technologies at various locations (private and public). In this paper, we especially explore the impact of individual perceived crime threat on the acceptance of surveillance technologies and on the needs for privacy and safety.
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Short Papers
Paper Nr: 3
Title:

Developing a Smart City by Operationalizing the Co-creation of Value Model
Authors:

Stephen Dawe and Chetan Sankar
Abstract: This paper describes a project that used the co-creation of value model to collect and analyse data on storm drains for a city so that it could become smarter in managing the water drainage issues. The city worked with a University centre and ensured that the prerequisite conditions – mutual value-creation potential, commitment and trust, and demonstrated delivery performance – were met. The project was able to integrate science and technology through Information Systems, analyse, optimize, control, and monitor the conditions of the 27,000 storm drains in the city, and enhance the decision making process of the city. This case study provides an example of how a city and a university centre can co-create value thereby helping the city’s management become “smarter” in managing its storm drains and the students obtain a rich field-based educational experience.
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Paper Nr: 47
Title:

Analyzing the Acoustic Urban Environment - A Geofencing-centered Approach in the Curitiba Metropolitan Region, Brazil
Authors:

Nádia P. Kozievitch, Luiz C. Gomes-Jr, Tatiana M. C. Gadda, Keiko V. O. Fonseca and Monika Akbar
Abstract: The industrial development and Brazilian economic context led to important structural changes, among others, the increase of population migration (rural to urban spaces), number of private vehicles (due to tax reduction and state subsidies for new cars and fuel), among others. Such changes impact not only the urban mobility at big cities but also the urban life quality, which is directly affected by pollutant emissions and noise. In order to limit emission impacts on sensitive population (children, elderly people, for example), city managers can enforce bounds on emissions and noise pollution generated by the city traffic in specific regions defined by geographical boundaries. This paper aims to contribute to the challenge of managing urban noise by exploring and analyzing the data with a geofencing approach. In particular, we present a exploratory data analysis toward a case study in Curitiba (1,800,000 inhabitants, a southern Brazilian city) aiming at analyzing possible sources of noise based on a particular data set of noise measurements, geographical information data, traffic, transportation and city licensing data.
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Paper Nr: 53
Title:

A Critical Outlook to Remourban Project of Eskisehir Tepebasi Municipality as a Smart Settlement
Authors:

Pınar Demirel Etli and Sevin Aksoylu
Abstract: In recent years strategies for urban regeneration have been developed due to the interurban competition and growing awareness of the cities’ role as an impetus for innovation and regional economic growth. One of the goal of these strategies is to implement initiatives to improve the quality of the environment operating in a wide sense towards a smart growth. In Turkey, some municipalities also got off the ground the smart settlement principles for the regeneration of the residential areas. This paper deals with a regeneration model called as “Remourban- ” project to accelerate the smart urban transformation of Life Village Site of Tepebasi Municipality in Eskisehir. The first part of the study contains definitions and content of urban regeneration and smart city in the literature. In the second part, the approaches and objectives of the Remourban project are given and evaluation of smart city attributes tested along with objective data of Remourban Project. Although, the project has many criteria which are overlap the definition of smart cities, it is not expected to classify in the same scope. Therefore, in order to be characterized as a smart city improvement in the concluding section, opportunities and recommendations have been presented.
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Paper Nr: 59
Title:

An Alternative and Smarter Route Planner for Wheelchair Users - Exploring Open Data
Authors:

Nádia P. Kozievitch, Leonelo D. A. Almeida, Ricardo Dutra da Silva and Rodrigo Minetto
Abstract: In this paper we describe a bottom-up approach to integrate GIS maps (endorsed by discrete features, such as points, lines, polygons), in order to develop a route planner for wheelchair users. We integrate public available data with a novel model for route planning, based on sidewalks, crosswalks and curb ramps, as opposed to traditional street-based approaches. We show that our sidewalk-based model is more suitable than available planning routes under mobility constraints, using a case study in Curitiba, Brazil.
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Paper Nr: 70
Title:

From the ‘Smart Ground’ to the ‘Smart City’ - An Analysis of Ten European Case-studies
Authors:

Sesil Koutra, Vincent Becue and Christos S. Ioakimidis
Abstract: During the last two centuries, the urban percentage of the world's population, combined with the overall growth phenomenon, has deeply increased and it is projected to reach 60% by 2030. In this current context linked to environmental issues managing to plan sustainable cities appears a main policy target. The implementation of Zero Energy Buildings as a European target becomes a challenge for the energy savings with the significant commitment for larger urban scales. The aim of this paper is the development of a methodological systemic approach about energy management in a ‘district scale’ with zero energy context within the analysis of ten European case-studies to the potential of a ‘smart ground’ towards the development of a ‘smart city’. This work opens and addresses numerous future research perspectives that should be investigated widely to develop districts with an operational, sustainable and long-term context.
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Paper Nr: 15
Title:

Privacy-preserving and IoT-capable Crowd Analysis and Detection of Flow Disturbances for Enhancing Public Safety
Authors:

Hans G. Ziegler
Abstract: This paper describes a solution for monitoring and detection of crowds and analysis of density structures and movement characteristics, to enhance safety of citizens and security of critical infrastructures. The system leverages the Internet of Things concept and heterogenous, energy efficient, networked sensors, with support for wireless communication. Privacy protection, instant deployability and auto configuration are hereby underlying core objectives. The solution, which will be described, comprises two novel distributed crowd analysis algorithms, allowing on the one hand the localisation of critical areas within large crowds and on the other hand the recognition of counter streams, which can cause severe impacts on the crowd flow and movement velocity and which can transform crowding scenarios into threatening situations.
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Paper Nr: 37
Title:

Making Smart and Accessible Cities - An Urban Model based on the Design of Intelligent Environments
Authors:

Raquel Pérez-delHoyo, Clara García-Mayor, Higinio Mora-Mora, Virgilio Gilart-Iglesias and María Dolores Andújar-Montoya
Abstract: Improving citizens' quality of life is one of the main goals of Smart Cities development. Accessibility of urban public spaces absolutely determines the living conditions for people. Technology provides new opportunities of autonomy for an increasing group of inhabitants with specific disabilities. This work proposes an urban model for improving accessibility based on the design of intelligent environments, with the automation of processes and functions in urban spaces, as a safe and effective way to promote inclusion and participation of all citizens. Finally, the most appropriate technologies to implement the model are discussed.
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Paper Nr: 42
Title:

Localized Tech Parklets - A Concept for a New Urban Commons
Authors:

Ratan J. Batliboi, Bipin Pradeep, Ranjani Balasubramanian, Kanaka Thakker, Prasun Agarwal and Rakesh Trivedi
Abstract: Urban commons were traditionally defined as commonly owned environmental resources – forests, rivers, fisheries or grazing land that were shared, used and enjoyed by all. Commons were then adapted to include public goods and services, such as public spaces, marketplaces, public education, health and infrastructure that allow societies to function. Today, with the proliferation of technology and in the context of Smart Cities, we explore the concept of a highly localized Technology based Parklet as a part of the new Urban Commons in a suburb of Mumbai, Matunga.
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Paper Nr: 67
Title:

Where does the Development of Road Transport Emission Macro Modelling Lead?
Authors:

Mohammad Maghrour Zefreh and Adam Torok
Abstract: In recent years, road transport models have developed for better estimation of road traffic emissions with higher and higher temporal and spatial resolution, to be used as a tool in air quality management for the better living. Road transport related emission models are becoming more and more complex. In this paper, the key research question is how the improvement in modelling influences the results? The authors compared three different macro emission modelling system with the dataset of Hungary for 2010. One must notice that more precise model has larger data requirement. Firstly, the consumption-based model was run with 31 needed input data secondly, EURO standard based model was run with 261 needed data and finally, speed dependent model was run with 1060 needed input data. According to the results, it can be stated that a more complex model could cause significant differences in emission compared to simpler one. The differences can be caused by old Hungarian vehicle fleet or differences in estimation error.
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Paper Nr: 74
Title:

The Interpretation of Landscape - Strategies Towards Smarter Cities
Authors:

Ioanna Fakiri
Abstract: In recent years we have seen a gradually increasing concern for the urban landscape and the way it is designed and evaluated. This concern, a result of the emergence of digital technologies and convergence of different scientific disciplines, is based on the ability of design tools to support and reinforce the discussion on urban landscape as an open process for action. But, how do we design a new urban space employing these design tools? So far the discussion on the design and form of the city placed emphasis on the creation of a communication platform that functions either through the development of interpersonal and interactive relationships of the users, or as an entity for configuring and displaying visual messages and communication to society. The term "smart city", has been linked with digital applications, sensors, and software to produce the city of the future. However, the real challenge is to develop a "smart city," that starts from the city of today and enables the combination of these smart practices by activating infrastructure that may reform the spatial structure of the urban morphology. This paper will introduce a "reformer," the natural landscape, based on which a new methodological approach shall be established, in order to manage the urban landscape. This will help create a "smarter city," which may find applications in various fields that start from today’s city, instead of trying to compose an ideal image of the city of tomorrow, that can bridge the gap between digital, natural and urban environment. The main theme of this paper is part of the extended scope of Landscape Urbanism, according to which the urban landscape can be redefined / designed through the remedial procedures of the urban landscape.
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Paper Nr: 75
Title:

Smart Cities Education as Mobility, Energy & ICT Hub
Authors:

Darya Bululukova, Momir Tabakovic and Harald Wahl
Abstract: The subject of smart cities is highly discussed topic not only in the domain-specific mobility, energy and ICT circles but also in the educational and research-related fields. The questions are arising along with the broader acceptance of smart cities by general public. What are the required crucial competence fields for future smart cities specialists? Are the existing study programs able to cover demand for smart cities education? What are the career prospects for future smart cities specialists? The European Academic Smart Cities Network is aiming to build up competence in the area of smart cities education, to establish an academic network in Austria and to expand the training opportunities at the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien with smart cities tailored Bachelor and Master study programs. This paper summarizes the status quo of the project activities and describes exemplary integration of the proposed educational programs based on practice- and professional field-oriented, diversity-fair approach. Starting with the relevant smart cities national strategies, the project proposes cross-departmental integration of smart cities into existing activities. The proposed approach may serve as a base for further development of smart cities specific educational opportunities at university level. Finally, a conclusion of the paper is presented in section 5.
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