Mining smart meter data paying off

June 11 2018

Smart electrical meters have been installed in many homes across Canada and now the massive data they collect is being collated and monetized.
An example is Toronto startup Parity Inc., which has developed software that harnesses artificial intelligence for multi-family building energy controls.
The project recently won the Alectra Energy Evolution Summit Inspirational Award.
With Parity, central software pulls data from the HVAC controls of a condo building and sensors on the mechanical equipment, automatically sets controls and sends out commands to make adjustments. There are no upfront costs to customers; payment is realized through guaranteed energy cost savings.
In the first year, Parity secured 10 projects, generating $1.15 million in sales. The energy savings for developers and property managers has been consistently in the 25 to 40 per cent range. One flagship project, Kingsbridge Grand in Mississauga, realized a savings of $64,536 with a payback of 1.3 years.
In Vancouver, Ecotagious is another energy-saving innovator that has been growing. The company works primarily with utilities and energy retailers to deliver measurable saving results for residential consumers.
Bruce Townson, CEO, who co-founded Ecotagious, said the company mines data generated by residential smart meters.
Utilities and energy retailers pay for the service on a subscription basis. The solution disaggregates the data generated by smart meters based on the individual signatures of major appliances. With these findings, utilities can advise residential customers on how to better manage their energy usage.