The Role of the Artificial Intelligence of Things in Energy Poverty Alleviation

The Sustainable Development Goal 7 aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030. It combines efforts to alleviate energy poverty with climate change action by setting worldwide objectives for boosting renewable and efficient energy consumption. Energy poverty is a significant problem in Europe that has worsened because of the Global Energy Crisis; the prevalence of energy poverty varies greatly throughout the continent, ranging from 0.3% to 27% of the population. After the COVID-19 outbreak, the Artificial Intelligence of Things has so far grown in significance and the research trends and emerging approaches using Artificial Intelligence of Things applications have been increasingly applied in the energy poverty context. There are not many works that use Artificial Intelligence of Things primarily to combat energy poverty. Nonetheless, several Artificial Intelligence of Things applications focusing on partial energy poverty features or on topics closely connected to energy poverty (income, energy prices, and building energy efficiency) have been released recently, allowing for the effective characterization of the issue. The primary objective of this chapter is to examine the role of the Internet of Things powered by Artificial Intelligence in addressing the issue of energy poverty. In this chapter, successful Artificial Intelligence of Things projects, in relation to the energy poverty and Sustainable Developments Goals are highlighted. After an exhaustive study, the Artificial Intelligence of Things has been determined to be a key actor to combat the current Global Energy Crisis and alleviate energy poverty. Future obstacles to the adoption of Artificial Intelligence of Things have been highlighted, and these include infrastructural gaps, societal issues, and cybersecurity.