Smart Buildings and Grid Features in City Energy System

This study presents a proposed approach that is focused on two aspects of smart buildings (SBs), which are near or real-time measuring and monitoring of energy consumption and energy generated locally. The design proposed is a smart plug, which is the employment of a smart monitoring system that allows users to monitor various ordinary electrical appliances (i.e., common lighting, air-conditioning, fans, and other electronic devices). For remote interaction with the smart plug, a simple end-user interface accessible through any smartphone is devised via Wi-Fi. Via internet connection, the sensors provide a direct connection to the users. A smart microgrid controller based on a Raspberry Pi board is used in the proposed system to control and act as the central part of the system while managing the operation of the system in real-time. The smart plug provides real-time data acquisition and data logging through a cloud database. As a result of the data obtained by real-time monitoring, building systems may be monitored, predictive maintenance can be performed, and problems and abnormalities can be identified. This system is intended to provide easy control of appliances and to allow adjustment of the electricity usage accordingly for conservation and saving of electricity. The proposed approach is also simple and convenient for building occupants to employ.