How the Internet of Things empowers intelligent energy storage

The Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming a major technological phenomenon – there will be 24 billion internet-connected devices online by 2020. From better decision-making, greater convenience and improved communications, the IoT will impact every part of our daily lives. This is true when it comes to intelligent storage, because the ‘intelligent’ aspect of an intelligent energy storage system stems from its connectivity to the IoT.

The following is a list of elements that make the IoT possible:

• Miniaturisation – Intel’s founder, Gordon Moore, predicted that the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits would double each year and this trend would continue – this is known as Moore’s Law. Many of the sensors and other technologies that enable energy storage systems would be too big and too clunky to be viable without miniaturisation.
• Hardware availability and battery – The prices of lithium-ion batteries are falling dramatically and will most likely do so for the foreseeable future.
• Connectivity – New networks are enabling connectivity that provides the basics for smart cities. These include lower-power, wide-area wireless technology, as well as 5G and mesh.
• Cloudification – Cloud computing is important to intelligent energy storage as the cloud is where energy usage data is stored for analysis by stakeholders.
• Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) – an API allows intelligent energy storage systems to integrate a building’s electrical system. They also link IoT devices together so that the intelligent energy storage system can serve as a smart home hub.
• Smart devices – IoT devices, or smart devices, such as smart phones and tablets have hardware and software that allows them to integrate with intelligent energy storage systems.
• Big Data – The IoT consists of devices that are communicating huge amounts of data with each other, or ‘Big Data’. Businesses, individuals, and municipalities can collect and analyse data on a large scale, which helps them make smarter decisions related to energy use.

For more information on how the IoT empowers intelligent energy storage, see full article.