Small power load disaggregation in office buildings based on electrical signature classification

This paper assesses the application of Non-Intrusive Appliance Load Monitoring (NIALM) methods for disaggregating electricity consumption in office buildings. The focus of the research is on small power equipment, which can represent up to 50% of the electricity use in buildings fitted with high efficiency building services. Research in this field has led to numerous algorithms being developed for use with NIALM systems, however, due to the highly variable nature of electrical appliances no suitable common characteristic has been identified for disaggregation. This paper presents an analysis of a set of electrical signatures based on transient and current-voltage phase shift during steady-state conditions for which subsets of the signatures are considered for identifying different small power loads. The ability of this approach to disaggregate appliance loads is demonstrated with the idea of applying disaggregation techniques during energy audits of office buildings.