Periodic Reporting for period 3 - PRECEPT (A novel decentralized edge-enabled PREsCriptivE and ProacTive framework for increased energy efficiency and well-being in residential buildings)
Reporting period: 2023-04-01 to 2024-03-31
The PRECEPT project addressed the urgent need for smarter, more sustainable residential buildings through innovative technology. This initiative aimed to significantly reduce the carbon footprint and energy usage of homes, a critical factor as urbanisation and environmental impacts intensify globally. The project sought to transform the smart home industry by leveraging advanced IoT technologies, federated learning, and digital twins, ensuring that these systems could operate with high levels of security and privacy. The overarching goals of PRECEPT were to develop a new generation of self-managed "plug-n-play" predictive and proactive smart residential buildings (PP-BMS). This included integrating edge computing to process data at its source efficiently, enhancing both operational responsiveness and user privacy. The project also aimed to develop comprehensive 6D Building Information Modeling (BIM) and building digital twins that would allow for real-time monitoring and adjustments. Moreover, PRECEPT focused on crafting sustainable business models to support the long-term viability of these technological advancements. By its conclusion, PRECEPT had set a new benchmark in residential building management, demonstrating how technological innovation can align with sustainability goals to create environments that are not only energy efficient but also conducive to enhanced living conditions.
Throughout its duration, the PRECEPT project executed a range of activities that laid the groundwork for a transition in residential building management. Starting with the development of a global IoT framework, the project integrated advanced algorithms that enabled not only predictive maintenance but also adaptive responses to changing environmental conditions and resident behaviours. This framework was pivotal in achieving significant reductions in energy use and operational costs, which were further bolstered by the project's advanced prescriptive maintenance strategies. Additionally, the project's innovations in occupancy and activity inference utilised machine learning to refine energy management, optimising HVAC systems to balance energy consumption with optimal user comfort efficiently. These efforts were supported by real-time assessments of thermal and visual comfort, ensuring that adjustments to the living environment were both responsive and effective. The KPIs highlight these achievements: maintenance costs were reduced by 49%, operational costs by 15%, and energy savings from the HVAC control alone saved 21%. Furthermore, improvements in energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality were marked at 19%, with a reduction in peak energy use by 16%. The practical applications of PRECEPT's technologies were thoroughly tested in pilot programs involving residents across multiple countries. These pilots were instrumental in refining the technologies and gathering user feedback, which was overwhelmingly positive, with user acceptance and satisfaction rates exceeding 70%. The dissemination of these results through various channels ensured that the lessons learned and best practices from PRECEPT reached a broad audience, facilitating wider adoption and impact.
PRECEPT's contributions to the smart home industry represented significant advancements beyond the current state of the art. The project not only standardised new methodologies, such as the Smart Proactive Indicators (SPIs) for proactive building management but also integrated these systems with renewable energy solutions, pushing the envelope for what is technically feasible in residential environments. The socio-economic impacts of these innovations have been significant. By reducing the energy and maintenance costs associated with residential buildings, PRECEPT has contributed to more sustainable urban development strategies. The environmental benefits of these reductions are complemented by improved indoor environmental quality, which has direct implications for residents' health and well-being. The project’s KPIs demonstrate impressive achievements: the notification system alone resulted in energy savings of 3-9%, while the overall energy savings from proactive HVAC controls reached 21%. These technological improvements not only reduce costs and energy consumption but also enhance the overall living conditions, contributing to healthier residential environments. Moreover, the extensive pilot tests conducted by PRECEPT served to validate and refine its systems, ensuring their effectiveness and reliability. The successful implementation of these systems across diverse environments has paved the way for their adoption on a larger scale, promising to transform the smart home industry and contribute to broader societal goals of sustainability and enhanced quality of life for urban residents. These efforts have enhanced stakeholder engagement and contributed to positioning PRECEPT in the global movement towards smarter, greener building solutions.