Many people interact with IoT devices in their daily lives, including Fitbits, Amazon Echo speakers, and Ring cameras. But IoT can do much more, especially in the renewable and green energy sector.
We discuss the Internet of Things (IoT) a lot here – and for good reason. The network of physical computing devices connected via the Internet is one of the most disruptive technologies in existence. This swarm of interconnected smart devices can completely automate our lives and help us reimagine virtually everything around us.
In fact, with 10 billion IoT devices activated as of last year, it appears that IoT is already reshaping our world with its seemingly limitless potential. It is used in many industries such as transportation, manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, finance and retail. More importantly, it is also starting to play a significant role in the renewable energy sector, bringing promising (and much needed) solutions.
How IoT is used in the renewable energy sector
Some of the ways IoT is serving the energy sector include:
Asset monitoring
IoT solutions help companies leverage renewable energy solutions and ensure their efficiency. For example, companies can connect smart roofs, rainwater collectors and photovoltaic solar panels into a network and control them on the go through mobile or desktop applications. This helps in reducing operational costs and manual intervention for the business.
Remote tracking
IoT allows companies to monitor their assets remotely through interconnected sensors. This way, companies can track their assets in real time. This is important for detecting maintenance issues, checking performance and anticipating any problems. Any changes to environmental settings can also be quickly communicated to maintenance teams.
Remote tracking also allows businesses to monitor energy consumption through smart devices. This information is useful for identifying waste habits and allows companies to create a conservation plan.
Dealing with distributed networks
Through IoT, energy companies can monitor thousands of panels and devices around the world. This is especially useful in renewable energy processing facilities and networks that require widespread distribution. It also helps with capacity building and oversees demand-side management. This allows companies to increase profits and improve system accessibility.
Additionally, you can use data from one sensor to reprogram other sensors to maximize productivity, as smart devices can share updates with each other.
Generating insights
Often, IoT devices are integrated with advanced technologies such as machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence. Helps companies gain real-time insights for scalability and risk management. This improves the decision-making process by collecting data that is later analyzed using ML algorithms.
IoT in the news
Many companies are adopting IoT to boost sustainability, improve expansion and accelerate the use of technology. Companies like Vodacom use data generated through IoT to develop sustainable business processes to address climate change. The use of IoT has led to a reduction in costs and carbon emissions for the organization.
Other prominent companies such as Infinitum Electric, Nobel Systems and WiseConn Engineering also use IoT to extract and distribute renewable energy. Some countries are even using IoT-based solar trees for agriculture . IoT makes it easier to manage energy production, maintain panel positions, and resolve common challenges associated with multifaceted energy networks.
So, what are the advantages of using IoT for renewable energy generation?
Automating tasks
Using IoT, businesses can automate daily tasks and improve their overall productivity. For example, solar panels with IoT sensors can automatically identify favorable parameters such as height and position directions. As a result, people do not need to manually change direction to generate the optimal amount of solar electricity.
IoT involvement can also reduce operational costs, reduce unplanned downtime, and increase the reliability of renewable energy systems. It also helps establish control over energy production.
Improving efficiency
Efficiency has been one of the main obstacles to renewable energy. Production from renewable energy sources is often unreliable and inconsistent. However, it is possible to improve the efficiency of the entire system with a combination of IoT and ML . In this system, engineers would be able to handle flow, efficiency and storage and allow companies to manage their energy production.
Strengthening security standards
IoT devices use authentication and access oversight procedures to prohibit unauthorized access to critical systems. This improves the overall security of the entire system by allowing only legitimate users to work on critical applications and data sets.
IoT also saves human lives. Through IoT devices, it is possible to monitor and control solar panels remotely without the need for human intervention. As solar farms and wind turbines are often positioned in dangerous locations, using IoT eliminates the need to manually check these instruments.
Reducing costs
IoT allows businesses to monitor and maintain their equipment at a fraction of the cost compared to manual maintenance. This also reduces the user's monthly bill, improving organizations' productivity, while reducing management costs.
So what does the future of IoT in renewable energy look like?
Energy revolution
IoT will play an important role in reshaping energy-efficient systems and ushering in a large-scale revolution in the energy sector. One of the biggest problems in energy is distributed generation , which can cause congestion problems. Furthermore, current renewable energy distribution and transmission systems are highly unreliable, leading to huge traffic losses.
This can be easily resolved through IoT, using smart grids to accurately assess capacity levels. You can also check the grid’s analytics to ensure its efficiency. The network itself can make better system-wide choices and broadcast the policy to all systems in the intermittent network. As a result, IoT solutions can help reduce resource waste and carbon emissions during energy distribution.
Smart cities
The widespread use of IoT will lead to the emergence of energy-efficient smart cities. In them, distributors could set up counters and scales according to consumption needs. This would reduce the need to use fossil fuels and eventually lead to a carbon-free energy model.
In the future, many amenities such as street lights, CCTVs and traffic signals will be powered by solar electricity. Issues such as illegal tapping and meter bypassing would be a thing of the past.
5G with IoT
Many governments are now planning to use 5G for IoT to provide cost-effective essential services. 5G will help companies monitor critical infrastructure, improve public safety, and manage human and vehicle traffic near a large number of locations.
IoT for the renewable energy sector
In recent years, many industries have adopted IoT to improve their efficiency and performance. The energy sector is also optimizing its use to improve sustainability. IoT helps companies remotely resolve machine failures, monitor their assets, and generate clean energy with maximum efficiency through standardized networks and protocols.
Renewable energy sources are sustainable and highly advantageous for our future. They degrade completely and cause little or no pollution and related hazards. As renewable energy is the future, companies also need to adopt IoT in other renewable ventures, such as biogas, geothermal and hydroelectric plants. Through IoT, green can be produced and distributed reliably and profitably.
If you liked this, be sure to check out our other IoT articles.
- How to Avoid Common IoT Mistakes
- The Impact of the Internet of Things on Web Design and Development
- Internet of Behavior: Understanding the Next Digital Frontier
- How the Internet of Things is revolutionizing healthcare
- How IoT, AI and Blockchain Lead the Way to a Smarter Energy Sector
Source: BairesDev
