The rational use of energy systems is one of the main discussions in sustainability in the 21st century. Water pumping systems are one of the most significant consumers of electricity in urban systems, whether for urban water supply, sewage, or use in vertical buildings. Thus, this work aims to present Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies applied in buildings’ water pumping systems, focusing on energy efficiency, supervision, and control of the pumping system. The work involves four steps: (i) identifying the existing I4.0 technologies and (ii) mapping the possibilities of applying Industry 4.0 technologies in building pumping systems. The study includes the analysis of (16) articles published in journals between 2018 and June 2021 to identify I4.0 technologies cited in the publications. It identified and grouped eighteen (18) technologies based on twenty-two (22) terms observed in the papers. The study classified the identified technologies into three possible applications in a building w... [more]

To combat global warming, “carbon neutrality” has gradually become a consensus. Some countries have constructed domestic and regional carbon trading markets, and links to global carbon markets are receiving increasing attention. Blue carbon, an important component of nature-based solutions (NbS), has not received the attention it deserves and is still isolated from the carbon trading market. Based on summarizing the existing achievements of blockchain application in carbon trading, this paper analyzes how to make each participating body provide services in the process of blue carbon production, circulation and trading, and designs the architectural diagram of the blue carbon system under peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions based on the theoretical framework of blockchain 3.0. Utilizing the advantages of decentralization, high transparency and non-tamperability of blockchain, we can realize a highly efficient, low-cost and intelligent blue carbon trading management system. Thus, we can make... [more]

Blockchain technology is used as a distributed ledger to store and secure data and perform transactions between entities in smart grids. This paper proposes a platform based on blockchain technology and the multi-agent system paradigm to allow for the creation of an automated peer-to-peer electricity market in micro-grids. The use of a permissioned blockchain network has multiple benefits as it reduces transaction costs and enables micro-transactions. Moreover, an improvement in security is obtained, eliminating the single point of failure in the control and management of the platform along with creating the possibility to trace back the actions of the participants and a mechanism of identification. Furthermore, it provides the opportunity to create a decentralized and democratic energy market while complying with the current legislation and regulations on user privacy and data protection by incorporating Zero-Knowledge Proof protocols and ring signatures.

This research aims to minimize the unnecessary resource consumption by intelligent Power Grid Systems (PGSs). Edge Computing (EC) technology is used to forecast PGS load and optimize the PGS load forecasting model. Following a literature review of EC and Internet of Things (IoT)-native edge devices, an intelligent PGS-oriented Resource Management Scheme (RMS) and PGS load forecasting model are proposed based on task offloading. Simultaneously, an online delay-aware power Resource Allocation Algorithm (RAA) is developed for EC architecture. Finally, comparing three algorithms corroborate that the system overhead decreases significantly with the model iteration. From the 40th iteration, the system overhead stabilizes. Moreover, given no more than 50 users, the average user delay of the proposed delay-aware power RAA is less than 13 s. The average delay of the proposed algorithm is better than that of the other two algorithms. This research contributes to optimizing intelligent PGS in sma... [more]

Smart grids, together with the Internet of Things, are considered to be the future of the electric energy world. This is possible through a two-way communication between nodes of the grids and computer processing. It is necessary that the communication is easy and safe, and the distance between a point of demand and supply is short, to reduce the electricity loss. All these requirements should be met at the lowest possible cost. In this paper, we study a two-dimensional rectangular grid graph which is considered to be a model of a smart grid; nodes of the graph represent points and devices of the smart grid, while links represent possible ways of communication and energy transfer. We consider the problem of choosing the lowest possible number of locations (nodes, points) of the grid which could serve as energy sources (or a source of different resources) to other nodes in such a way that we ensure reduction in electricity loss and provide safe communication and resistance to failures a... [more]

In recent decades, climate change and a shortage of resources have brought about the need for technology in agriculture. Farmers have been forced to use information and innovation in communication in order to enhance production efficiency and crop resilience. Systems engineering and information infrastructure based on the Internet of Things (IoT) are the main novel approaches that have generated growing interest. In agriculture, IoT solutions according to the challenges for Industry 4.0 can be applied to greenhouses. Greenhouses are protected environments in which best plant growth can be achieved. IoT for smart greenhouses relates to sensors, devices, and information and communication infrastructure for real-time monitoring and data collection and processing, in order to efficiently control indoor parameters such as exposure to light, ventilation, humidity, temperature, and carbon dioxide level. This paper presents the current state of the art in the IoT-based applications to smart gr... [more]

The rapid growth of information technology and industrial revolutions provoked digital transformation of all sectors, from the government to households. Moreover, digital transformations led to the development of cryptocurrency. However, crypto trading provokes a dilemma loop. On the one hand, crypto trading led to economic development, which allowed attracting additional resources to extending smart and green technologies for de-carbonising the economic growth. On the other hand, crypto trading led to intensifying energy sources, which provoked an increase in greenhouse gas emissions and environmental degradation. The paper aims to analyse the connections between crypto trading, economic development of the country, renewable energy consumption, and environmental degradation. The data for analysis were obtained from: Our World in Data, World Data Bank, Eurostat, Ukrstat, Crystal Blockchain, and KOF Globalisation Index. To check the hypothesis, the paper applied the Pedroni and Kao pane... [more]

Energy management and monitoring systems are significant difficulties in applying microgrids to smart homes. Thus, further research is required to address the modeling and operational parts of the system’s future results for various applications. This paper proposes a new technique for energy management in a microgrid using a robust control approach and the development of a platform for real-time monitoring. The developed controller is based on a fuzzy logic method used in the energy Internet paradigm with connected distributed generators (DGs) in the microgrid. The developed method regulates the power flow of the microgrid, and frequency/voltage regulation improved the load-management performance and monitoring system using the ThingSpeak platform for real-time data analysis. The MATLAB. simulation results show the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed strategy and the introduced approach in microgrid control under various operating conditions. Additionally, the results show t... [more]

The decentralization of power generation driven by the rise in the adoption of distributed energy resources paves the way for a new paradigm in grid operations. P2P energy trading is beneficial to the grid as well as the connected peers. A blockchain-based smart contract is well suited to transparently facilitate trades between energy consumers and producers without the services of intermediaries. In this paper, Ethereum-based smart contracts that facilitate double energy auction and spinning reserve trading are developed with Solidity, compiled, and deployed within the Remix IDE. Willing energy sellers/buyers submit offers/bids to a contract that implements the double auction procedure. In order to fulfil energy supply obligations, sellers are also able to purchase spinning reserves via another smart contract. The smart contracts’ effectiveness in performing the auction procedure and making payments is confirmed using an energy/reserve market scenario. The proposed scheme encourages f... [more]

Recent advances in control, communication, and management systems, as well as the widespread use of renewable energy sources in homes, have led to the evolution of traditional power grids into smart grids, where passive consumers have become so-called prosumers that feed energy into the grid. On the other hand, the integration of blockchain into the smart grid has enabled the emergence of decentralized peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading, where prosumers trade their energy as tokenized assets. Even though this new paradigm benefits both distribution grid operators and end users in many ways. Nevertheless, there is a conflict of interest between the two parties, as on the one hand, prosumers want to maximize their profit, while on the other hand, distribution system operators (DSOs) seek an optimal power flow (OPF) operating point. Due to the complexity of formulating and solving OPF problems in the presence of renewable energy sources, researchers have focused on mathematical modeling an... [more]

In this paper, a method of power system equipment recognition based on image processing is proposed. Firstly, we carry out wavelet transform on the sound signal of power system equipment collected from the site, and obtain the wavelet coefficient−time diagram. Then, the similarity of wavelet coefficients−time images of different equipment and the same equipment in different periods is calculated, which is used as the basis of the feasibility of image recognition. Finally, we select the HOG features of the image, and classify the selected features using SVM classifier. The method proposed in this paper can accurately identify and classify power system equipment through sound signals, and is different from the traditional method of classifying sound signals directly. The advantages of image processing can be effectively utilized through image processing to avoid the limitations of sound signal processing.

Blockchain has peculiar characteristics among various digital technologies due to its decentralised and cryptographic properties. The combination of intelligent energy systems and blockchain can innovate new forms of transactive energy and navigate the digital journey to transform the future of renewable energy systems. This review studies various blockchain implementations in the smart energy domain and presents the findings on operational and transactional challenges in a blockchain-based smart renewable energy system. We also identify the differences between operations and transactions in smart energy systems. Furthermore, we identify the most pronounced cryptocurrencies in different studies. The findings highlighted various challenges concerning the implementation of blockchain-based smart energy systems. We identified how these challenges spawn across operational and transactional deliverables. Building on these findings, we discuss various challenges impacting the operational and... [more]

A low-cost, open-source peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading system for a remote community is presented in this paper. As a result of its geographic location, this community has never been able to access electricity and other modern amenities. This study aims to design and implement a P2P energy trading system for this remote community that allows residents to take advantage of distributed energy resources. A Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (Pi4B) hosts the main server of the trading system that includes the user interface and a local Ethereum blockchain server. The Ethereum blockchain is used to deploy smart contracts. The Internet-of-Things (IoT) servers run on ESP32 microcontrollers. Sensors and actuators connected to the ESP32 are field instrumentation devices that facilitate acquiring, monitoring, and transferring energy data in real-time. To perform trading activities, React.JS open-source library was used to develop the blockchain-enabled user interface. An immutable blockchain network keep... [more]

Blockchain, or distributed ledger, is an innovative technology that is emerging in various sectors and industries across the globe. It has attracted the attention of different interest groups such as energy companies, SMEs and start-ups, information technology developers, financial institutions, national authorities, and the university community. Through, for example, the decentralization of authority in transactions, Internet of Things (IoT) implementation, and smart contracting, the improvement of the daily business operations is firmly forecasted. In the energy sector, digitalization is already present in solutions such as smart grids, smart meters, electric vehicles, etc. Moreover, a new concept of the Internet of Energy (IoE) has been introduced in the academic literature. In this article, the level of trust and maturity of Blockchain technology implementation is investigated through the Blockchain Maturity Questionnaire, developed by the authors. The database consists of response... [more]

In the context of modern power system development to support the evolution towards green energy and carbon-neutral emission goals, many existing problems and even challenges demand new technical solutions. In recent years, decentralized blockchain technology has been employed to address some problems in power systems, and many papers have been published. In this paper, the concept of blockchain is first introduced. A brief survey of the existing publications regarding the applications of blockchain in power systems, including power system dispatching, microgrid operation, energy trading, electricity trading settlement, transmission, and distribution system operation, is then carried out. In addition, several application scenarios of blockchain technology in power systems are also introduced. Through the discussion, we found that we still need to weigh the advantages and disadvantages, overcome its leakage, and bring its value into play if we apply blockchain technology in modern power... [more]

Inadequate gas supply is partly responsible for the energy shortfall experienced in some energy-poor nations. Favorable market conditions would boost investment in the gas supply sector; hence, we propose a blockchain-based fair, transparent, and secure gas trading scheme that facilitates peer-to-peer trading of gas. The scheme is developed using an Ethereum-based smart contract that receives offers from gas suppliers and bid(s) from the thermal plant operator. Giving priority to the cheapest offers, the smart contract determines the winning suppliers. This paper also proposes an economic dispatch model for gas-deficient plants. Conventional economic dispatch seeks to satisfy electric load demand whilst minimizing the total gas cost of generating units. Implicit in its formulation is the assumption that gas supply to generating units is sufficient to satisfy available demand. In energy poor nations, this is hardly the case as there is often inadequate gas supply and conventional econom... [more]

In the 21st century, society has been undergoing a technology-driven transformation which heralds a new revolution that has potential to strengthen the position of an individual and community but may also lead to the marginalization of certain groups. The Internet of Things takes advantage of the technology’s potential to improve digital competencies and the quality of life in society. The purpose of this paper is to obtain information about the digital competencies and needs of contemporary seniors and pre-senior age people, as well as socially sensitive groups from Poland’s rural areas. To strength the level of internet infrastructure in rural areas, power line communication (PLC) systems that utilize high-voltage line(s) between transformer substations are presented as a cost-effective communication tool. PowerLink IP has made PLC systems today more attractive and efficient than ever before. Based on nation-wide representative surveys conducted in deliberately selected groups, we co... [more]

Multiphase vortices are widely present in the metallurgical pouring processes, chemical material extraction, hydroelectric power plant energy conversion, and other engineering fields. Its critical state detection is of great significance in improving product yield and resource utilization. However, the multiphase vortex is a complex dynamics problem with highly nonlinear features, and its fluid-induced vibration-generation mechanism faces significant challenges. A fluid-solid coupling-based modeling method is proposed to explore mass transfer process with the vorticity distribution and vibration-generation mechanism. A vibration-processing method is utilized to discuss the four flow-state transition features. A fluid-induced vibration experiment platform is established to verify the numerical results. It is found that the proposed modeling method can better reveal the vibration-evolution regularities of the fluid-solid coupling process. The flow field has a maximum value in the complex... [more]

As a particular kind of detection technology under weak magnetization, metal magnetic memory testing is very likely to be affected by external factors in the detecting process, which may lead to incorrect results. In order to minimize the negative influence of interrupting signals and improve the detection accuracy, this paper adopted the enhanced metal magnetic memory testing method to preliminarily increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the detection signal and then compares the denoising effects of wavelet threshold denoising method, empirical mode decomposition (EMD) denoising method, EMD-wavelet threshold denoising method, ensemble EMD (EEMD), complementary EEMD (CEEMD), variational mode decomposition (VMD), local mean decomposition (LMD) and empirical wavelet transform (EWT) on the detection signal and the gradient signal respectively. The results show that the enhanced metal magnetic memory testing method can significantly increase the SNR of the obtained signal and cannot... [more]

Smart cities can be made into super-smart cities through IoT devices’ implication of energy-efficient 6G. IoT devices are expected to reach fifty billion, but limited information is available regarding the energy-efficient 6G wireless communication standard. This article highlights the key technologies, applications, and trends in the Internet of Things (IoT) for energy-efficient 6G wireless communication in smart cities. The systematic review helped to achieve the aim of the study by considering the 20 articles extracted from databases and Google that fell between 2015 and 2021 and are written in English. The findings identified that quantum communication, blockchain, visible light communication (VLC), 6G brain−computer interface (BCI), symbiotic radio, and others are the key technologies. The applications of IoT technologies and energy-efficient 6G are found in 15 Minute City, Industrial Town, Intelligent Transport systems and others. Furthermore, the trend of using 6G through IoT de... [more]

Voltage sag detection is utilized to capture the sag occurrence moment and calculate the sag depth of power grid voltage in real time, so as to generate reference voltage for controlling voltage interactive equipment such as dynamic voltage restorers (DVRs). However, the traditional voltage sag detection methods based on synchronously rotating frames (SRFs) are unable to acquire high-precision sag information under nonideal grid conditions such as unbalance or harmonic interference. In order to enhance the immunity of the sag detection, a method based on a selective harmonic extraction algorithm (SHEA) is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the state-space model of SHEA is established using discrete orthogonal basis to decouple and separate the signal of target frequency and the signal of interference frequency. The controllability, stability and convergence of SHEA are analyzed theoretically and serve as the criteria for parameter tuning. Moreover, a gain compensator (GC) is used to impr... [more]

In recent years, container-based virtualization technology for edge and cloud computing has advanced dramatically. Virtualization solutions based on Docker Containers provide a more lightweight and efficient virtual environment for Edge and cloud-based applications. Because their use is growing on its own and is still in its early phases, these technologies will face a slew of security issues. Vulnerabilities and malware in Docker container images are two serious security concerns. The risk of privilege escalation is increased because Docker containers share the Linux kernel. This study presents a distributed system framework called Safe Docker Image Sharing with Homomorphic Encryption and Blockchain (SeDIS-HEB). Through homomorphic encryption, authentication, and access management, SeDIS-HEB provides secure docker image sharing. The SeDIS-HEB framework prioritizes the following three major functions: (1) secure docker image upload, (2) secure docker image sharing, and (3) secure docke... [more]

Building models and their connected subsystems are often simulated as standalone entities. However, in order to monitor a system′s reactions to changing parameters and to assess its energy efficiency, it must be exposed to the actual dynamic context of the building under study. Hence, frameworks assessing co-operative simulation of buildings and their subsystems should be used. In this study, the Building Control Virtual Test Bed (BCVTB) framework was used for co-simulation of a small-scale building (EEBLab) connected to an Earth-to-air heat exchanger (EAHE). The EnergyPlus tool was used to simulate the indoor air temperature variations within the EEBLab, and MATLAB was used to model the EAHE system and to calculate its performance based on various parameters. The HOLSYS internet of things platform was deployed to monitor and collect the experimental data from the sensors to validate the simulations. A favorable agreement between the experimental and simulation results was obtained, sh... [more]

The world of electrical distribution is rapidly changing and is seeing more and more distributed production and steerable flexibilities. Energy communities are seen as an important innovation for the optimization of electrical consumption at a local level. A central need of the local energy markets inside energy communities is the exchange and circulation of production and consumption data, and therefore the problem of the potential leak of sensitive data must be addressed. In this paper, the context of the Lugaggia Innovation Community, a Self Consumption Community pilot project in southern Switzerland, is introduced together with the blockchain framework that was created for its internal market interaction and the rules designed for its local energy market. A cryptographic protocol from the literature, based on homomorphic encryption, is then proposed for the anonymous aggregation of production and consumption data of the individual households at a resolution of 15 min. The computati... [more]

The oil and gas business has high operating costs and frequently has significant difficulties due to asset, process, and operational failures. Remote monitoring and management of the oil field operations are essential to ensure efficiency and safety. Oil field operations often use SCADA or wireless sensor network (WSN)-based monitoring and control systems; both have numerous drawbacks. WSN-based systems are not uniform or are incompatible. Additionally, they lack transparent communication and coordination. SCADA systems also cost a lot, are rigid, are not scalable, and deliver data slowly. Edge computing and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) help to overcome SCADA’s constraints by establishing an automated monitoring and control system for oil and gas operations that is effective, secure, affordable, and transparent. The main objective of this study is to exploit the IIOT and Edge Computing (EC). This study introduces an I2OT-EC framework with flowcharts, a simulator, and system... [more]