NOBEL

Our MISSION in NOBEL was to develop, integrate and validate ICT enabling a reduction of the currently spent energy, by providing a more efficient distributed monitoring and control system for local network operators and prosumers.The key to NOBEL’s efficiency improvement is that prosumers become sources of both energy and information. The information allows the energy system to better adapt the amount of electricity in the network to the real time demand. The performance of the entire system is enhanced by exploiting the locality of the processes in monitoring and control that normally do not consider the detailed behaviour of the actual consumers.In summary, the scientific and technical objectives covered by NOBEL project are:1. Information retrieval. NOBEL used state of the art technologies to dynamically obtain and process information from current available installed equipment. This has been achieved by implementing bidirectional communication with all involved entities, process the information with respect to consumption and production and automate decisions to be made network-wide. 2. Information distribution. NOBEL developed a service oriented framework that allows easy flow of information among the prosumers and the enterprise systems in order to foster more energy efficient processes. This implies the development/extension of a middleware – i.e. a set of application independent services – that enable the distributed capturing, filtering and processing of the energy related data. The same services ease enterprise wide inclusion and allow for better cross-layer collaboration which leads to holistic optimisation strategies.3. A cooperative system. NOBEL developed cooperation approaches for all entities involved. This assumes cooperating objects at device level, at the energy brokerage system, at service level etc. We tackled interoperability in heterogeneous environments and use the Internet Protocol for communication e.g. at smart meters, etc. in order to reach unprecedented levels of granularity. The system includes:a. The development of a core platform to assist local network operators in the monitoring and control of energy.b. The development of a brokerage system and usage of brokerage agents that act on behalf of a prosumer – to distribute fine-grained knowledge and gather information through the network.4. End-user applications. NOBEL developed a number of end user applications:a. A Neighbourhood Oriented Energy Monitoring and Control System (NOEM)b. A Brokerage Agent Front-End (BAF)c. A Neighbourhood Oriented Public Lighting Monitoring and Control System (NOPL)5. Real-world evaluation. NOBEL validated and assessed the NOBEL approach in a real world Pilot Site in Alginet (Valencia – Spain), where customers reside and use it in their daily lives.