The transient behavior of a typical electrical load is strongly
influenced by the physical task that the load performs. This observation has
led to the development of a transient event detector for nonintrusive load
monitoring (NILM). This project has, among other efforts, developed a multiscale
transient event detection algorithm that can identify the operating schedule
of individual loads operating in a building strictly by examining measured
transient profiles observed in the aggregated current waveforms available
at the service entry.
For electric utilities and industrial facilities managers, the NILM is
a convenient and economical means of acquiring accurate energy usage data
with a minimal installation effort. The transient detection algorithm extends
the applicability of the NILM to demanding commercial and industrial sites,
where substantial efforts, e.g., power factor correction and load balancing,
are made to homogenize the steady-state behavior of different loads, and
where loads may turn on and off very frequently. We are developing the NILM
as a platform for monitoring the performance and power quality of critical
loads, and for use in other venues including power system monitoring on
automobiles, other ground transportation systems, satellites, aircraft,
and ships.
