Technology Trending – AI for rooftop PV, home energy management, harnessing kinetic energy

AI to optimise the size of rooftop solar PV, the Wiser Home energy management app recognised and BMW’s proposal to harness energy from uneven road surfaces are in the week’s technology radar.

AI to make rooftop solar panels more efficient

Optimising the size of a rooftop solar PV system can be tricky with neither too many panels generating a surplus nor too few panels generating sufficient power providing the best ROI.

To overcome this researchers at the University of Gävle in Sweden have introduced AI into the rooftop potential assessment steps

In the first step, publicly available cadastral maps, aerial photographs and point target data are used to identify all the roofs of a neighbourhood.

Have you read?
EU continues to be at the forefront of clean energy research
Manoj Sinha: ‘Innovation is attacking a problem from a multi-dimensional aspect’

In the next step, the slopes and orientations of the roofs are assessed. In a third step, the structure of each roof, including chimneys and angles, is considered.

Finally, the number of solar panels that should be installed on each roof and how they should be positioned to be as efficient as possible is suggested.

“This research is useful as a basis for decision making,” says GIS researcher Mohammad Aslani, commenting that it is crucial for both for financial and environmental reasons an assessment is as accurate as possible.

In the next step, Aslani hopes to turn the work around to investigate the use of AI to optimise the PV system in meeting a building’s energy demand during the building and roof design stage.

Wiser Home energy management app recognised for innovation

Schneider Electric’s Wiser Home Energy Management app, which was designed to simplify home energy measurement and control, has been recognised for innovation with its naming as a 2023 Consumer Electronic Show (CES) Innovation Award Honoree.

The award recognises the design and engineering in technology products, focusing on sophisticated monitoring and control solutions.

“We are incredibly honoured to receive this recognition from CES for the Wiser Home Energy App, which brings new levels of insight and control to homeowners, simplifying energy management to make their homes more sustainable and more efficient,” said YiFu Qi, Executive Vice President Home & Distribution at Schneider Electric.

Features of the Wiser Home app include whole home energy and device control, insight on appliance energy usage and usage comparison with similar homes in the area, electric vehicle charging optimisation, load balancing and renewable energy prioritisation when it is available.

BMW to harness speed bumps for energy?

An eagle eyed publication has reported the unearthing of a patent filed by BMW for a novel suspension system that can harness electricity as the vehicle goes over bumps in the road.

Normally the energy from the movement of a car’s suspension is effectively lost as heat. BMW’s proposal is reported to include a small generator, a flywheel and clutch in the suspension. As the car’s wheel moves in response to a bump, the generator is engaged and the resulting energy used to recharge the battery.

Whether the system will ever see the light of day remains to be seen as many designs patented do not. However, the concept of kinetic energy is by no means new and for example is being pioneered by the UK company Pavegen to harness energy from footsteps with a technology embedded in floor times and pavement slabs.