Smart Energy Management In The Smart Era

In today’s times of new age technologies, use of AI, ML and IoT is gradually becoming important in the power sector. Venkatraman Swaminathan, Vice President, Secure Power, Greater India, Schneider Electric discusses some of its aspects in this interaction

- Dr. Archana Verma

What are the issues involved in the energy management today? do they vary across sectors?

The energy management dilemma that India and the rest of the world are facing is palpable and imminent.

According to various forecasts, the energy demand is expected to double by 2050 and hence, the corresponding need to decrease our carbon footprint will be critical to address the climate impact

Global power capacity is also expected double by 2040. Hence, renewable energy will have a bigger role to play. Analysts expect the renewable sector to account for up to 50% of new capacity additions by 2030 worldwide In such a scenario, the impact of digitisation, AI & IoT is going to be key. IoT is expected to take the energy universe to the next level with up to 50 billion connected devices by 2020 and 75 billion connected ones by 2025, according to a report by Cisco.

Additionally, energy usage varies by type of business. For example, on the retail front, a coffee shop or restaurant has refrigerators, stoves and other equipment needed to prepare food. Patrons must be kept comfortable for what may be a lengthy stay. In a convenience store, on the other hand, customers come and go quickly, but there is still a need to refrigerate food and beverages. In both cases, food safety is directly dependent on refrigeration control and equipment performance. Finally, a clothing store and the like don’t deal with food at all but do handle shoppers, who must be kept comfortable regarding temperature, air quality, lighting and more.