Architectures and Challenges for the Household Energy Management Systems

The Internet of Things (IoT) household energy management system (HEMS) is presented in this paper. It is the integrated application of technologies that help to improve the quality of life of the residents. Besides the energy efficiency, data extracted from HEMS combined with computer learning algorithms can be used for many other potential application areas, next to controlling household appliances and multimedia equipment, providing assistance to elderly and disabled, and increasing safety and security. This paper aims to address several opened challenges of HEMS with key focus on the metrological issues and communication architectures for data integration. It has been shown that there is a gap between the need of energy data on the appliance level and the metering hardware complexity. Undoubtedly, the realization of one possible communication architectures of HEMS has been accelerated and enabled by the novel researches and development in the Internet of Things paradigm, as the interconnection concept of intelligent devices and management platforms that collectively enable the "smart world" around us.