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Adaptable Platform for Active Services Exchange

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - AnyPLACE (Adaptable Platform for Active Services Exchange)

Reporting period: 2016-07-01 to 2018-06-30

The AnyPLACE project developed a modular and interoperable energy management systems for buildings, mainly households, capable of managing and controlling loads, generation and storage resources according to their flexibility. It considers the user preferences as well as devices and local systems configurations to provide always the best schedule for the next day. This allows the end-user to become an active participant in new energy services provision like demand response, offered by retailers or aggregators.
The major achievements were the development and implementation of HW and SW modules that compose the AnyPLACE platform, that was demonstrated to be cost-effective and capable of integrating (smart and legacy) appliances, smart meters, and microgeneration systems. The AnyPLACE solution was able to fulfill the 100€/solution requirement from the call and depending on specific customizations this value can be significantly lower.
The overall impact of solutions like AnyPLACE is important in terms of society, as it is a technological tool to allow end-users of energy to become more efficient, to make use of renewable generation and to contribute to the CO2 reduction and consequently to the reduction of GHG emissions.
The major outcomes of the project are described by the produced deliverables (D) and achieved milestones (M).
• D9.1 established the dissemination strategy for the whole project with different strategies and initiatives according to the project state.
• D1.1 characterized the regulatory framework of the different consortium member states with the legislative support where the AnyPLACE platform is likely to be installed.
• D2.1 approached the socioeconomic context in which the AnyPLACE solution is likely to be deployed.
• D3.1 analysed the characteristics of existing devices, end-user interfaces and communications platforms related with the AnyPLACE project. Current business practices and services related with AnyPLACE were identified and characterized.
• D4.1 identified the high-level functional requirements that the AnyPLACE platform needs to support in order to fulfill different energy management strategies.
• M1 was achieved with the delivery D1.1 D2.1 and D3.1.
• D5.1 set the technical and technological control and management requirements regarding energy management, maintenance and support and user interaction.
• In D6.1 the technical and technological communication requirements of both versions of the AnyPLACE solution are being finalized.
• D7.1 defined the technical and technological cybersecurity and data privacy requirements for communications among devices and systems both basic and advanced versions of the AnyPLACE platform considering the regulatory frameworks of EU countries.
• M2 was accomplished with the delivery of D4.1 D5.1 D6.1 and D7.1 with a detailed characterization of the technical and technological requirements.
• D4.2 focused on a thorough analysis to the compatibility strategies that the AnyPLACE solution needs to incorporate, to support the interaction with current smart meters and appliances.
• D6.2 produced the definition of the service-oriented architecture (SOA) for the AnyPLACE solution considering the external and internal communications.
• D4.3 described the AnyPLACE solution implementation, with the documentation of the different features and functionalities that were made available in all the pilot solutions to be installed in real households and building.
• D5.2 presented the specification and design of the User Interface that is part of the AnyPLACE solution both in the local device as well as in the app (Android and iOS). It defined the way the end-user interaction with the AnyPLACE hardware and related devices.
• D5.3 defined the control and management schemes that allow the AnyPLACE solution to implement monitoring and automation schemes. It also described the different hardware components and how they are integrated into a final solution.
• D6.2 establishes the service-oriented architecture to interconnect in a standardized way the AnyPLACE with different devices and system with which it needs to interconnect.
• D7.2 defined the cybersecurity and data handling procedures for the AnyPLACE data storage and data exchange, to ensure a trustworthy way of dealing with different data flows that allow the AnyPLACE solution to operate.
• M3 related to the development of individual modules of the AnyPLACE solution was achieved with the delivery of D5.2 D6.2 and D7.2
• D8.1 established the testing procedures that were executed and validated, during the integration phase of the AnyPLACE solution, carried out in the laboratories of the different partners.
• M4 was fulfilled with the delivery of D8.1 that described in detail the laboratory testing carried out in different testing infrastructures.
• D8.2 described the main demonstration event of the project, which consisted in pilot that involved 25 participants of different buildings where the AnyPLACE was installed.
• M5 was achieved with the installation of 25 AnyPLACE solutions in domestic buildings in Dörentrup, as part of D8.2.
• D1.2 provided policy and regulatory recommendations for efficient and timely deployment of flexible smart metering platforms in EU Member States.
• D2.2 provided an evaluation of the societal and environmental impacts introduced by the AnyPLACE functionalities.
• D3.2 presented the economic assessment of the AnyPLACE solution to leverage existing and new business models in creating new opportunities for market stakeholders.
• M6 was accomplished through the evaluation of the impact that the AnyPLACE had or can potentially have in themes of D1.2 D2.2 and D3.2.
• D9.3 described the all the communications and dissemination activities of the project that were undertaken to promote the project both internally and externally.
• M7 was accomplished at the end of the project through the different communications channels, exploited by the consortium partners, and with the delivery of D9.3.
The main contributions of the project are:
• Characterization of the context (regulatory, socio-economic and physical) that allow the development of the AnyPLACE for real case scenarios and able to be adapted to them.
• Integration strategies were defined to allow the interconnection of existing devices, appliances, systems, etc. to cost-effectively implement energy management strategies and ensure interoperability.
• Definition of a methodology to identify the requirements for the AnyPLACE solution functionalities. The definition of a basic and advanced version (set) and the ability to convert one version in another shows the scalable and modular characteristics of the solution.
• Definition of cybersecurity and data privacy guidelines and auditing procedures to ensure the trustworthiness of the AnyPLACE solution.
• Service-oriented architecture was elected from a set of candidates using a SWOT analysis where the pros and cons were carefully analysed.
• Creation of a development framework based on the openHAB automation and Qt middleware to support the development of the different HW and SW modules.
• Definition of user engagement techniques through social and technological approaches to maximize the participation of end-users.
• Implementation of optimal scheduling algorithms that make use of flexible tariffs and local PV production that increase energy use efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint.