IBM and Cisco are teaming up on a pilot to help the Dutch utility Nuon and the city of Amsterdam make smarter use of energy by enabling consumers to make more informed decisions about their energy consumption. The pilot program is part of the Amsterdam Smart City initiative, in which citizens, governments and companies are working together to make more efficient use of energy, water and mobility to create a more sustainable city.
The consortium will jointly implement an innovative energy management system based on smart metering and home energy management technology, which will enable 500 selected households to gain better insight into their energy consumption and help drive change in usage behavior. It is anticipated that as a result of the pilot, customers will be able to save on energy costs and realize a CO2 reduction of at least 14 percent.
Smart meters and home energy management systems will be installed in the 500 households that participate in the pilot. Within this consortium, Nuon and IBM will develop the applications for the energy management system, making use of intelligent IT systems and well-protected web technology. Cisco will be responsible for the IP-based home energy management solutions that help enable real-time, highly secure connectivity between household appliances and the energy system, resulting in substantial efficiencies.
Through this project, IBM and Cisco aim to demonstrate how intelligence throughout the electrical grid can dramatically reduce outages and faults, improve responsiveness, handle current and future demand, increase efficiency and manage costs.
"Now that more than half of the global population lives in cities, we need to acknowledge that achieving a sustainable future lies in our urban centers," said Guido Bartels, General Manager of IBM's Global Energy & Utilities industry. "Smarter energy initiatives are foundational for other critical infrastructure systems that make up a city--this project will enable the City of Amsterdam to leverage integrated, intelligent and interconnected technologies to transform their systems and optimize the use of finite resources."
"Giving the citizens of Amsterdam more information and better control over their energy use will cut down on costs and consumption as well as reduce their overall impact on the environment," said Marthin de Beer, senior vice president of Cisco's Emerging Technologies Group. "Innovative cities like Amsterdam recognize the opportunity in using the standards-based intelligent communications network as a platform for economic development, better city management and improved quality of life for citizens. With this pilot, we hope to demonstrate how smart and connected communities can be more energy conscious and more green."
The energy management pilot in Amsterdam has been realized with the help of several program partners housing corporations Far West and Ymere, Amsterdamse Innovatie Motor, Home Automation Europe, ROC Amsterdam, the University of Amsterdam and Grid Operator Liander. The pilot is co-funded by the European Fund for Regional Development.
