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Published November 3, 2016 © GPL3+

Smart Outlet to Reduce Peak Power Needs

Eliminate inefficient peak power generation by intelligently coordinating demand.

AdvancedShowcase (no instructions)Over 1 day2,291

Things used in this project

Hardware components

uln2803

DC motor (generic)

LED (generic)

NeoPixel strip

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B

Software apps and online services

Unity

Arduino IDE

Amazon Web Services AWS Lambda

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Soldering iron (generic)

Laser cutter (generic)

3D Printer (generic)

Story

Baseline electrical generation is relatively efficient and clean. Peak power generation is expensive and dirty. Additional peak power generation capacity can be unavailable during periods of peak demand and in off-grid environments.

Electrical demand is determined independently by consumers who have minimal knowledge of the instantaneous state of the power grid and no tools for managing their usage besides individual power switches. Power companies have no direct knowledge of short term future demand and are therefore always in a reactive operating mode.

It is now possible to have electrical loads communicate with each other and with the power company to provide short term forecasting and coordination of demand. Instead of air conditioning blindly following the thermostat, the system would inform the grid that it would be needing 2000 watts of power for 5 minutes within the next 20 minutes and the grid let the device know the most efficient time to run. Devices in the neighborhood would run in round-robin fashion instead instead of all turning on at the same time.

This does not have to be a "big brother decides" system. Consumers would still be in control, but would be encouraged to coordinate by variable peak period pricing which is already in effect in same areas. This system would make it possible to base the peak pricing on instantaneous demand. The customer could set the temperature to a fixed value like they do today: their month end bill would be about the same as before but the power company could plan better by being advised of expected demand by the controller. Other customers could set a temperature and a budget and the system would allow the temperature to vary a little more widely and would run round-robin with other demands to minimize peaks. This could improve efficiency with minimal impact on comfort.

We often start our dishwasher in the morning so we have clean dishes when we get home for dinner. A smart controller could coordinate with the grid to run at the most efficient time that avoids peaks but still gets our dishes washed when we need them.

Code

var Edison = require("edison-io");

var mqtt = require('mqtt')
var client = mqtt.connect('mqtt://ec2-35-161-110-220.us-west-2.compute.amazonaws.com')

var mraa = require('mraa');

const SmartOn = 'on'
const SmartOff = 'off'

const HouseName = "/Main110_"
var HouseTopic = HouseName + 'Controller'
var AcTopic = HouseName + 'Ac'
var HeaterTopic = HouseName + 'Heater'
var LightsTopic = HouseName + 'Lights'
var StoveTopic = HouseName + 'Stove'
var ThermostatTopic = HouseName + 'Thermostat'
var ClockTopic = HouseName + 'Clock'
var TopicList = [HouseTopic, AcTopic, HeaterTopic, LightsTopic, StoveTopic, ThermostatTopic, ClockTopic]

const AcLedPin		= 2
const MotorPin		= 6		// pwm
const HeaterLedPin	= 4
const HouseLightsPin	= 5		// pwm
const WashingMachinePin	= 9		// pwm
const StoveLedPin	= 10		// pwm

const PortTypeGpio = "g"
const PortTypePwm = "p"

function IoWrite(value) {
	console.log("IoWrite " + this.pin .toString() + ' --> ' + value.toString() + ' - MaxPwm: ' + this.maxPwm.toString());
	if (this.type === PortTypePwm) {
		if (value < 0.001) {
			value = 0.0;
			this.io.enable(true);
			this.io.write(0.2);
			this.io.write(0.1);
			this.io.write(0);
			this.lastValue = value;
			this.io.enable(false);
			this.enabled = false;
			console.log("ZERO FIX " + value.toString());
		} else {
			if (!this.enabled) {
				this.io.enable(true);
				this.enabled = true;
			};
			if (value > this.maxPwm) {
			       value = this.maxPwm;
			};	       
			this.io.write(value);
			this.lastValue = value;
		}
	} else {
		this.io.write(value);
		this.lastValue = value;
	};
}

function IoFadeStep(step) {
	if (step != undefined) {
		this.fadeStep = step;
	};
	if (this.fadeStep == undefined) {
		return;
	};
	this.lastValue = this.lastValue + this.fadeStep;
	if (this.fadeStep < 0) {
		if (this.lastValue < 0.0) {
			this.lastValue = 0.0;
			this.fadeStep = undefined;
		}
	} else {
		if (this.lastValue > 1.0) {
			this.lastValue = 1.0;
			this.fadeStep = undefined;
		}
	}
}

function IoPort(type, pin, isOutput) {
	this.lastValue = 0;
	this.fadeStep = undefined;
	this.type = type;
	this.pin = pin;
	this.maxPwm = 0.9;
	if (isOutput === undefined) {
		this.isOutput = true;
	} else if (isOutput) {
		this.isOutput = true;
	} else {
		this.isOutput = false;
	};
	if (this.type == PortTypePwm) {
		this.io = new mraa.Pwm(this.pin);
		this.io.enable(true);
		this.enabled = true;
	} else {
		this.io = new mraa.Gpio(this.pin);
		if (this.isOutput) {
			this.io.dir(mraa.DIR_OUT);
		} else {
			this.io.dir(mraa.DIR_IN);
		};
		this.enabled = true;
	}
	this.write = IoWrite;
	this.fade = IoFadeStep;
}

var AcLedGpio = new IoPort(PortTypeGpio, AcLedPin); 
var MotorPwm = new IoPort(PortTypeGpio, MotorPin);
MotorPwm.maxPwm = 0.2;
var HeaterLedGpio = new IoPort(PortTypeGpio, HeaterLedPin); 
var StoveLedGpio = new IoPort(PortTypeGpio, StoveLedPin); 
var HouseLightsPwm = new IoPort(PortTypePwm, HouseLightsPin);

client.on('connect', function() {
    client.subscribe(TopicList);
    client.publish(HouseTopic, SmartOn);
});

AcDevice(SmartOff);
HeaterDevice(SmartOff);
GpioDevice(StoveLedGpio, SmartOff);

function AcDevice(state) {
  if (state === SmartOn) {
    HeaterDevice(SmartOff);
    MotorPwm.write(1.0);
    AcLedGpio.write(1);
    console.log('AC ON');
    //client.publish(AcTopic, SmartOn);
  } else {
    MotorPwm.write(0.0);
    AcLedGpio.write(0);
    console.log('AC OFF');
    //client.publish(AcTopic, SmartOff);
  }
}

function HeaterDevice(state) {
  if (state === SmartOn) {
    AcDevice(SmartOff);
    MotorPwm.write(1.0);
    HeaterLedGpio.write(1);
    console.log('Heater Turned On' );
    //client.publish(HeaterTopic, SmartOn);
  } else {
    MotorPwm.write(0.0);
    HeaterLedGpio.write(0);
    console.log('Heater Turned Off' );
    //client.publish(HeaterTopic, SmartOff);
  }
}

function GpioDevice(gpio, state) {
  if (state === SmartOn) {
    gpio.write(1);
  } else {
    gpio.write(0);
  }
}

function PwmDevice(gpio, valueS) {
  valueF = parseFloat(valueS);
  console.log('PWM ' + valueF.toString());
  gpio.write(valueF);
}

client.on('message', function(topic, message) {
            // message is Buffer
	    thisTopic = topic.toString();
	    thisMessage = message.toString(); 
            console.log(thisTopic + ' : ' + thisMessage );
            if(thisTopic === AcTopic){
		AcDevice(thisMessage);
            }else if(thisTopic === HeaterTopic){
		HeaterDevice(thisMessage);
            }else if(thisTopic === StoveTopic){
		GpioDevice(StoveLedGpio, thisMessage);
            }else if(thisTopic === LightsTopic){
		PwmDevice(HouseLightsPwm, thisMessage);
            };
            client.publish(thisTopic+'_State', thisMessage);
    });

var interval = setInterval(function(str1, str2) {
	  console.log(str1 + " " + str2);
}, 1000, "Running.", "House Monitor Loop");

// clearInterval(interval);
//while (true) {
//  setTimeout(function () {
//	  console.log('boo')
//  }, 5000);
//}

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>

<head>
    <title>Edison Connect</title>
    <script src="https://cdn.socket.io/socket.io-1.2.0.js"></script>
    <script src="//code.jquery.com/jquery-1.11.3.min.js"></script>
    <script src="https://code.jquery.com/ui/1.12.1/jquery-ui.min.js" integrity="sha256-VazP97ZCwtekAsvgPBSUwPFKdrwD3unUfSGVYrahUqU=" crossorigin="anonymous"></script>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/materialize/0.97.8/css/materialize.css" integrity="sha256-3AnlRNIdX11hf3yyjAb12b2Tac0VmZxGxpVRURyJIAw=" crossorigin="anonymous" />
    <script>
    var outgoing = "hi";
    var socket = io.connect('//localhost:3000');

    $(document).ready(function() {
        $("#target").click(function() {
                socket.emit('message', outgoing);
            });
        });

    socket.on('data', function(data) {
        console.log(data);
        dataIn = data.toString();
	fldCode = dataIn.substring(0,1);
	msgData = dataIn.substring(1);
	if (fldCode == 'T') {
          $('#ctlTime').text(msgData);
	} else if (fldCode == 'C') {
          $('#ctlTemp').text(msgData);
	} else if (fldCode == 'A') {
          $('#ctlAc').text(msgData);
	} else if (fldCode == 'H') {
          $('#ctlHeater').text(msgData);
	} else if (fldCode == 'L') {
          $('#ctlLights').text(msgData);
	} else if (fldCode == 'S') {
          $('#ctlStove').text(msgData);
	} else {
          $('#ctlXXX').text(dataIn);
	};
    }); socket.on('error', function() {
        console.error(arguments)
    }); 

    </script>
</head>

<body>
    <table>
      <tr><td>Time:</td><td><span id="ctlTime"></span></td></tr>
      <tr><td>Outside Temp:</td><td><span id="ctlTemp"></span></td></tr>
      <tr><td>Heater:</td><td><span id="ctlHeater"></span></td></tr>
      <tr><td>Air Conditioning:</td><td><span id="ctlAc"></span></td></tr>
      <tr><td>Lights:</td><td><span id="ctlLights"></span></td></tr>
      <tr><td>Stove:</td><td><span id="ctlStove"></span></td></tr>
      <tr><td>Unknown:</td><td><span id="ctlXXX"></span></td></tr>
    </table>

    <a class="waves-effect waves-light btn-large" id="target">Button</a>

</body>

</html>

var mqtt = require('mqtt')
var client = mqtt.connect('mqtt://ec2-35-161-110-220.us-west-2.compute.amazonaws.com')
var fs = require('fs'); 
var parse = require('csv-parse');
var moment = require('moment');
var sleep = require('sleep');
var utilPower = 0;
var mapUtil = {"Lights":5,"Heater":15,"Ac":20,"Stove":10}
var csvData;

client.on('connect',function(){
    console.log("Service online");
    fs.createReadStream("Temperature.csv")
    .pipe(parse({delimiter: ':'}))
    .on('data', function(csvrow) {
        csvData = csvData+'\n'+csvrow;
    })
    .on('end',function() {
        client.publish('/Main110_Ac','on');
        client.publish('/stats','Ac on');
        client.publish('/stats','Light on');
        sleep.sleep(5);
        utilPower = utilPower+mapUtil["Ac"];
        client.publish('/Main110_Lights','on');
        utilPower = utilPower+mapUtil["Lights"];
        console.log("Current power utilization : " + utilPower);

        var last = "",lines, i,dbDate,resultDate;
        var dateFormat = 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss',minutes = 30,df='HHmm';
        dbDate = '2016-06-11 06:00:00';

        lines = (last+csvData).split("\n");
        for(i = 2; i < 27; i++) {
            if(i>lines.length-1)
            {
                client.publish('/system_time',moment(dbDate).format(df));
                console.log("Logged at : "+moment(dbDate).format(df));
                dbDate = moment(dbDate).add(minutes,'minutes').format(dateFormat);
            }else{
                var str = lines[i].split(",");
                client.publish('/system_time',str[0]);
                client.publish('/system_curtemp',str[1]);
                
                if(parseInt(str[2])-utilPower<=10){
                    console.log("Nothing scheduled, Currently utilizing : "+utilPower);
                }

                if(str[4]!="stats"){
                    client.publish('/Main110_'+str[4],str[5]);
                    client.publish('/stats',str[4]+' '+str[5]);
                    if(str[5]=="on" || str[5]=="1"){
                        utilPower += mapUtil[str[4]];
                        console.log(mapUtil[str[4]]);
                    }
                    else if(str[5]=="off" || str[5]=="0"){
                        utilPower -= mapUtil[str[4]];
                        console.log(mapUtil[str[4]]);
                    }
                    else if(str[5]=="0.5"){
                        utilPower += (mapUtil[str[4]])/2;
                    }
                    console.log("Scheduled event "+str[4]+" switched "+str[5]+" current util : "+utilPower);
                }
                console.log("Logged at : "+str[0]);
                dbDate = moment(dbDate).add(minutes,'minutes').format(dateFormat);
            }
            
            sleep.sleep(5);

            client.publish('/Main110_Lights','0');
            client.publish('/stats','Lights off');
            client.publish('/Main110_Heater','off');
            client.publish('/stats','Heater off');
            client.publish('/Main110_Ac','off');
            client.publish('/stats','Ac off');
            client.publish('/Main110_Stove','off');
            client.publish('/stats','Stove off');
        } 
        process.exit();
});


});

Credits

Al Margolis

1 project • 5 followers

I am excited about programming and electronics and have lots of experience in both.

Contact

Anoja Rajalakshmi

1 project • 1 follower

Firmware Engineer seeking a serious opportunity to gain vital industry experience in a growing company

Contact

Ashok

1 project • 0 followers

Contact

mhellar

2 projects • 7 followers

Mark Hellar is a leading technology consultant for cultural institutions throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond and owner of Hellar Studios LLC.

Contact

Comments

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Smart Outlet to Reduce Peak Power Needs

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Schematics

Flow Diagram for Node-Red

Github Repository

Code

index-mraa.js

Dashboard

MQTT Power Broker

Credits

Al Margolis

Anoja Rajalakshmi

Ashok

mhellar

Comments

Embed the widget on your own site

Smart Outlet to Reduce Peak Power Needs

Smart Outlet to Reduce Peak Power Needs

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Schematics

Flow Diagram for Node-Red

Github Repository

Code

index-mraa.js

Dashboard

MQTT Power Broker

Credits

Al Margolis

Anoja Rajalakshmi

Ashok

mhellar

Comments

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