The Internet of Things (IoT) is more than a buzzword. While it might not get as much attention as machine learning and big data, it’s a rapidly growing technology that we’re only going to be hearing more about. It has the potential to be transformative. It is predicted that IoT could help reduce UK CO2 emissions by 17.4 million tonnes per year. Another report estimates that IoT will have a global economic impact between $5.5 trillion and $12.6 trillion by 2030. But what exactly is IoT, how can it contribute to urban innovation and how does the technology work?
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The Internet of Things is all about devices connecting and communicating with one another. It involves linking a physical object, a ‘thing’, to the internet via fixed broadband or a wireless network (e.g. WiFi, Bluetooth, 4G) so that it can send and/or receive data. IoT is all around us, from wearable tech like watches that monitor health, to smart street lights that only switch on when their sensors detect motion.
IoT in practice
The Royal Borough of Greenwich has set out a smart cities strategy, which DG Cities is helping to develop and deliver, to address some of the challenges facing residents. Together, we have identified four scenarios, or ‘use cases’, where IoT can be combined with behavioural nudges, end user engagement and education to address some of the council’s most significant issues.
Fly-tipping: combining awareness-raising and behavioural change interventions with IoT monitoring technology to reduce fly tipping in Greenwich housing estates. In each use case, we are working closely with the RBG’s Housing Services team, ensuring that stakeholders support our proposed solutions. DG Cities will pilot the solutions in sample estates, evaluate the success of each and then scale across the borough.
Smarter homes: a smart home strategy for installing environmental and fire safety devices in estates to detect health hazards such as carbon monoxide, damp and mould. As well as making homes safer and healthier, it’s also intended to create a more proactive repair service, as the council receives immediate alerts when there is an issue. They can collect performance data and insights and use these to make data-driven improvements.
Solar sharing: the equitable distribution of power generated from solar PV to households via solar microgrids. At present, solar power generated on housing estates is only used towards communal demands, for example corridor lighting. Any excess power - often over 90% - is sold back to the National Grid. Installing microgrids directly benefits residents and helps the council decarbonise.
Saving energy: finding ways to help residents reduce their home energy consumption using a combination of behavioural change interventions and IoT. This aligns with the Government target of reducing the carbon emissions from heating our homes by 95% over the next 30 years.
System in detail: smart meters
The energy saving use case will involve researching and rolling out smart meter systems. If we take a close look at a smart meter system, we can get a deeper understanding of how IoT technology works.
A smart meter system has three devices:
an electricity meter, which records electricity consumption in almost real-time
a gas meter, which records gas consumption every half hour
an in-home display: a digital screen that displays a summary of electricity and gas consumption and the corresponding bills.
These three devices are connected via a home-area network (HAN). The electricity meter and gas meter also send data directly to the energy supplier via a wide-area network (WAN). This connection between the energy meters and the energy supplier is more convenient, as there is no need to manually take readings of energy usage, and households receive accurate figures for bills rather than estimates. Another major benefit of smart meter systems - and IoT in general - is that they help us make informed decisions. Smart meter systems give us valuable insight into our home energy use and are a useful tool to reduce our carbon emissions and energy bills. We can see which appliances use the most energy. The government’s cost benefit analysis predicts that if smart meter systems were rolled out across the UK, they could save a total of £5.6bn in energy bills and reduce carbon emissions by 45 million tonnes.
Risks and benefits
There are concerns about IoT, particularly around cyber security. When devices are connected to each other and to the internet, this allows multiple entry points for unauthorised users. One way to increase the security of a system is to encrypt data. For smart meter systems, the data transmitted across a WAN is encrypted to prevent hackers from interfering with energy suppliers. However, even if the systems are secure, getting consensus from residents is a challenge in itself. Studies show that 84% of social housing residents are sceptical about IoT due to data privacy concerns. For each use case, we intend to address residents’ concerns early on, providing openness and transparency on how data would be stored and used, and by whom. While clearly communicating the benefits of IoT, we will help residents make an informed decision on whether they want to participate in use case trials.
We will also take care to capture only necessary data; for the fly tipping use case, we have ensured the smart cameras fully comply with legal requirements, such as only sending alerts when unusual activity is detected, and not using facial recognition technology. Finally, installing IoT can be complicated, lengthy and expensive, with difficulties often arising when trying to integrate IoT with legacy systems. To overcome this, we are closely collaborating with Royal Borough of Greenwich stakeholders to understand the existing infrastructure and policies in place and to determine how IoT will fit in. We are also looking at longer term strategies and have identified where IoT would deliver value.
“The potential applications of IoT technology are hugely exciting. As well as the cost and environmental benefits of monitoring energy use, might sensors allow vulnerable elderly people live for longer in their own homes? DG Cities is analysing the opportunities, as well as seeing how new technology might address recurring problems. Further research and engagement will be necessary, but these early use cases aim to achieve tangible benefits for Greenwich residents.”
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