Data captured in Hortonworks Data Platform to help proactively optimise UK power grid
Hortonworks, provider of open enterprise Hadoop, today announced it has expanded its European customer base with the addition of Open Energi, a company harnessing flexibility in demand for energy.
Open Energi has selected the Hortonworks Data Platform (HDP) to transform the way energy is delivered and consumed through smart grids with Hadoop-powered, real time, Internet of Things (IoT) data.
Smart grids, powered by sensor data, allow energy consumption to be managed in real time based on immediate demand and supply data rather than historic patterns of energy use. With HDP, the industry’s only open enterprise Hadoop solution, Open Energi will help organisations gain insight by analysing real time information based on data streamed from over 3,000 electricity consuming assets and meters around the UK, said Hortonworks.
Open Energi’s patented demand response technology is helping to drive momentum behind smart grids by enabling organisations, including the likes of Sainsbury’s, United Utilities and Aggregate Industries, to turn energy intensive equipment such as fridges, pumps and fans into smart devices, which can alter their energy use intelligently in response to fluctuations in electricity supply and demand nationwide. Its unique Dynamic Demand technology aggregates consumption across its customers’ sites to provide a fast, flexible solution equivalent to a power station, only instead of adjusting supply up or down, it adjusts demand to meet supply.
Using HDP, Open Energi will collect, store and analyse sensor data containing information about real time electricity consumption and control processes more efficiently and at a far greater scale than previously possible.
Additionally, HDP will provide a single view of all this information to enable organisations to react swiftly to changing conditions on the grid, and identify ways to generate extra revenue from existing assets, maximise energy savings and spot opportunities to reduce CO2 emissions.
“Our vision is to build the world’s first virtual power station and we aim to do that by developing a smarter platform built around smarter demand,” explained David Hill, business development director, Open Energi. “Using the HDP in combination with the IoT will enable us to make connections between a wider range of disparate datasets at a far greater scale, so that we can provide organisations with a previously unattainable level of insight into their use of energy and ultimately create an energy system which is cleaner, cheaper and more secure.”
As more devices connect to the IoT, an ever-increasing amount of data is being created that can offer valuable insight into a number of areas. In addition to supporting the optimisation of smart grids, open enterprise Hadoop’s ability to accommodate over one trillion files through an internet-scale storage layer can be used to track everything from weather patterns to supporting the healthcare industry to more effectively record and monitor patients’ vital statistics and other health indicators, claimed the company.
“Data is the driving force behind a smarter energy grid and with access to more accurate technology, it is now possible to build a far more detailed picture of energy usage,” explained Hortonworks’ VP international operations, Andy Leaver. “Through its use of the Hortonworks Data Platform, Open Energi will have real time information and insight into grid conditions that can be fed back to customers help them make better information decisions about their energy consumption.”
