There is hope.
The inherent "connectedness" that the IoT will result in would help to enable smarter homes, buildings, power grids and cities. Information will be more readily shared, analysed faster and acted upon in real-time. Transport for London is already making use of the IoT to begin informing planning decisions, react to disruptions within the network and keep users updated (see London Datastore and Shah, 2016) The IoT therefore creates opportunities for reducing congestion, optimising renewable energy utilisation etc. (Dragland, 2012).
The smart cities idea is attracting increasingly more attention. Whilst there is undoubtedly plenty of optimism/wishful thinking in discussions of what smart cities herald, it is still tough to overstate the significance of technological development and disruption. Sources of data, methods of data analysis and general capabilities will grow in the future, as they have done for the last few decades. Ramirez (2016) looks at the case of solar-powered, smart bins in Colombia. There are certainly flaws and limitations to the products and their implementations, but they show promise and demonstrate how the IoT can help as opposed to just hinder. The article looks specifically at smart waste solutions, but still identifies real sources of emissions reductions through that technology (for those interested in smart cities, The Guardian has a special section dedicated to it and is very accessible; this article on smart cars in smart cities, and this one on climate-smart cities are a good place to start).
The idea of energy harvesting - using ambient energy to sustain low power devices - is receiving more attention as the IoT continues to develop (Haight et al., 2016). Many of the devices that make up the IoT do not draw on much energy individually, but they are numerous. Smart cities would have such devices all over the place (cities like London already have a lot because of the work of TfL as mentioned earlier). Whilst this does not reduce the energy consumption of the more energy-hungry additions to the IoT, proactive action on this front would still serve to prevent a massive proliferation of grid-dependent devices.
Haight et al. (2016) discuss the increasing improvements in energy efficiency derived from ultra-low power processors, allowing for small, thin solar cells to run them. 'Multielemental kesterite' solar cells are made of earth-abundant materials, are exceedingly thin and can be easily optimised for indoor lighting by altering the band gap of the solar cell. They are identified as a potential source of solar cell technology to run low power devices. Further research by Wang et al. (2016) has seen the development of a single device that can scavenge wind and solar energy. They identified the lack of effective wind energy solutions that are suitable for urban areas, and so developed a device that is approximately 120 mm × 22 mm. This small device can individually and simultaneously generate power from solar and wind energy to run low-power devices. They could be installed extensively on the roofs of buildings and homes to self-power certain functions of smart cities that rely on the IoT.
The introduction of the IoT to the running of cities therefore presents opportunities to rethink how energy is used and drive reductions in consumption. Smart metering, in much the same way that it has helped in industry (see my post on the IoT and Industry Energy), can help draw attention to energy consumption for ordinary people. Anda and Temmen (2014) highlight the success of properly implemented smart metering programmes in achieving behavioural change.
Smart metering is a part of the movement towards smart grids, which can intelligently and autonomously handle shifting loads and variable energy generation (Anda and Temmen, 2014). They also present more opportunities for "end-users" to feed back into the grid with energy they themselves generate (Dragland, 2012). This would be alongside informed people taking an active part in regulating their energy use by making visible the previously invisible consumption. The resilience of the grid is improved whilst energy consumption is optimised (Young et al., 2016). Figure 1 lists the advantages smart grids hold for each stakeholder. This setup would also aid the adoption of renewable energy and help address the problems of variable energy generation that renewables suffer from.
The mistake that I think Hazas et al. (2016) make is that whilst they recognise the increase in devices, they don't recognise the potential for change that those devices bring with them. Energy use does, in many cases, perversely drive energy use. But the IoT, through smart meters and smart grids, could still help to create efficient behaviours and practises, and speed up the transition to renewable energy. de Decker's suggestion of an inbuilt speed limit that Hazas et al. refer to would not be the correct solution. The growth of the IoT is too organic to introduce and enforce this sort of restriction, and I struggle to see how you could decide on a limit when it would almost certainly restrict innovation and growth (read: profit).
The inherent "connectedness" that the IoT will result in would help to enable smarter homes, buildings, power grids and cities. Information will be more readily shared, analysed faster and acted upon in real-time. Transport for London is already making use of the IoT to begin informing planning decisions, react to disruptions within the network and keep users updated (see London Datastore and Shah, 2016) The IoT therefore creates opportunities for reducing congestion, optimising renewable energy utilisation etc. (Dragland, 2012).
The smart cities idea is attracting increasingly more attention. Whilst there is undoubtedly plenty of optimism/wishful thinking in discussions of what smart cities herald, it is still tough to overstate the significance of technological development and disruption. Sources of data, methods of data analysis and general capabilities will grow in the future, as they have done for the last few decades. Ramirez (2016) looks at the case of solar-powered, smart bins in Colombia. There are certainly flaws and limitations to the products and their implementations, but they show promise and demonstrate how the IoT can help as opposed to just hinder. The article looks specifically at smart waste solutions, but still identifies real sources of emissions reductions through that technology (for those interested in smart cities, The Guardian has a special section dedicated to it and is very accessible; this article on smart cars in smart cities, and this one on climate-smart cities are a good place to start).
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| Solar roofs in Freiburg, Germany show that green building standards could cut electricity use. |
The idea of energy harvesting - using ambient energy to sustain low power devices - is receiving more attention as the IoT continues to develop (Haight et al., 2016). Many of the devices that make up the IoT do not draw on much energy individually, but they are numerous. Smart cities would have such devices all over the place (cities like London already have a lot because of the work of TfL as mentioned earlier). Whilst this does not reduce the energy consumption of the more energy-hungry additions to the IoT, proactive action on this front would still serve to prevent a massive proliferation of grid-dependent devices.
Haight et al. (2016) discuss the increasing improvements in energy efficiency derived from ultra-low power processors, allowing for small, thin solar cells to run them. 'Multielemental kesterite' solar cells are made of earth-abundant materials, are exceedingly thin and can be easily optimised for indoor lighting by altering the band gap of the solar cell. They are identified as a potential source of solar cell technology to run low power devices. Further research by Wang et al. (2016) has seen the development of a single device that can scavenge wind and solar energy. They identified the lack of effective wind energy solutions that are suitable for urban areas, and so developed a device that is approximately 120 mm × 22 mm. This small device can individually and simultaneously generate power from solar and wind energy to run low-power devices. They could be installed extensively on the roofs of buildings and homes to self-power certain functions of smart cities that rely on the IoT.
The introduction of the IoT to the running of cities therefore presents opportunities to rethink how energy is used and drive reductions in consumption. Smart metering, in much the same way that it has helped in industry (see my post on the IoT and Industry Energy), can help draw attention to energy consumption for ordinary people. Anda and Temmen (2014) highlight the success of properly implemented smart metering programmes in achieving behavioural change.
Smart metering is a part of the movement towards smart grids, which can intelligently and autonomously handle shifting loads and variable energy generation (Anda and Temmen, 2014). They also present more opportunities for "end-users" to feed back into the grid with energy they themselves generate (Dragland, 2012). This would be alongside informed people taking an active part in regulating their energy use by making visible the previously invisible consumption. The resilience of the grid is improved whilst energy consumption is optimised (Young et al., 2016). Figure 1 lists the advantages smart grids hold for each stakeholder. This setup would also aid the adoption of renewable energy and help address the problems of variable energy generation that renewables suffer from.
 |
| Fig 1 Benefits cross section for key stakeholders |
The mistake that I think Hazas et al. (2016) make is that whilst they recognise the increase in devices, they don't recognise the potential for change that those devices bring with them. Energy use does, in many cases, perversely drive energy use. But the IoT, through smart meters and smart grids, could still help to create efficient behaviours and practises, and speed up the transition to renewable energy. de Decker's suggestion of an inbuilt speed limit that Hazas et al. refer to would not be the correct solution. The growth of the IoT is too organic to introduce and enforce this sort of restriction, and I struggle to see how you could decide on a limit when it would almost certainly restrict innovation and growth (read: profit).
The route of energy harvesting and smart tech-enabled solutions is the one that is likely to be the best. It allows commercial interests to be aligned with energy reduction, and these solutions themselves will grow to be large businesses. We will undoubtedly require more conservative voices to keep up the pressure and force a focus on reducing consumption. But enforcing data restrictions is not viable, and any government that tries it would likely be met with apocalyptic prophecies of businesses fleeing to enlightened, "pro-business" countries.
For those that are of a more technical disposition, this article may be of some interest.
For those that are of a more technical disposition, this article may be of some interest.
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