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Prashant Shenoy's smart-grid research highlighted in "Toward a Smarter, Greener Grid"

Professor Prashant Shenoy's smart-grid research is the feature story on the UMass Amherst Research NEXT site in the story, "Toward a Smarter, Greener Grid."

Excerpt:


The average home or office is but one tiny unit in our greater energy grid, but given that America's buildings rake up 75 percent of the national electric bill, energy efficiency needs to begin there. UMass Amherst computer scientist Prashant Shenoy and electrical and computer engineer David Irwin are leading a team of researchers focused on analyzing smart meters and other tools that could transform the way energy is utilized, monitored, and controlled in U.S. buildings.

The National Science Foundation funded Shenoy's foundational smart-grid research, and now he and his team are moving into the deployment phase with several new technologies intended to help residents and utility companies achieve their energy goals. Along with partner Holyoke Gas and Electric (HG&E), Shenoy and his team are analyzing 18,000 smart meters deployed in western Massachusetts and are continuing to expand their efforts. Whereas previous meters recorded data once a month, these record electricity data constantly and feed it wirelessly to the electric utility. Because this information yields patterns--peak usage times, appliance usage, and more--it is invaluable in making buildings more efficient.

"Information is a big part of the puzzle. To make a building smarter, greener, more energy-efficient, you first need to understand its energy consumption,"
says Shenoy.

See full ResearchNext article