Principal Investigator John Williams
Reducing the demand side of our energy needs can be achieved by reducing and optimizing our use of energy in transportation and in the heating and cooling of buildings. The US Green Building Coalition estimates that US buildings account for 39 percent of all energy use, and 38% of all CO2 emissions. Transportation consumes 29% of all energy. This project targets some of the key implementation challenges of the smart grid: The Smart grid will consist of the electricity distribution network including the supplier and consumers and of a parallel monitor and control network (Grid Control Network). The Grid Control Network will be an IP based network. There will be other players in the eco systems building the Grid Control Network and connecting it to the electricity grid. This work focuses on building applications for increasing energy efficiency and peak shaving and on securing the Grid Control Network. MIT and SAP are collaborating to build a real time meter data unification system capable of handling ten million customers.