MIRIAM: City Information Model and Neighbourhood Manager for the Real-Time…

Title: City Information Model and Neighbourhood Manager for the Real-Time Identification and Analysis of Power and Heat Usage at the Macro-Scale (MIRIAM)
Challenge Selected: Challenge 1 - Data Platform for Real Time Energy (Power and Heat) Usage
Abstract: MIRIAM is an interoperable Neighbourhood Manager and City Information Model which gathers both Real-Time Information (RTI) and Building Specific Information in a city to analyse and understand both power and heat data at macro-scale. Real data from the buildings in the city are gathered from multiple available sources such as smart meters, Automated Meter Readings (AMR), Building Management System (BMS) and climate data from weather stations to mention a few. Building specific data is gathered from building owners/ occupiers in the city, including utility bill information and information such as building type, floor area, occupancy and use and information with respect to the buildings services and equipment.
All data is collected via a user friendly web portal, whether it is RTI to be updated at regular time intervals or manual data that is entered once. Where possible, real data is used to show real measured energy use in the city and where real data is not available, simulated data is generated via the building specific information. All data is stored via an interoperable City Information Model (CIM) server, which supports multiple file formats so that all available data from a city is included. The filtered data is viewed via an online portal as 3D model geometry, 2D interactive maps or raw data. This is used to understand energy usage and flows in the city and the amount and type of data available will determine if one or all views can be utilised. As more information from the city is uploaded by the city inhabitants, the accuracy of the simulated data improves and eventually through available RTI, simulated building data is replaced by real building data to have a real-time accurate picture of how the city is ever changing and evolving to its users needs and behaviour.
The data from the CIM server is also exported to a Neighbourhood Manager (NM), which characterises the city in terms of power and heat. The NM uses a powerful simulation engine to predict savings and Return on Investment as a result of a variety of retrofit measures suitable to different end users. Four identified end users have been identified for the initial development of the MIRIAM product offering and customised displays to suit these users needs will be developed. These are: 1) the Individual Building Owner, 2) the Public Community, 3) the Business Community and 4) the Technology/Service Provider. The Individual Building Owner will use MIRIAM to identify potential simple and deep retrofit measures for their building; the Public Community will identify district schemes that benefit a defined area; the Business Community will identify opportunities for a portfolio of buildings; and the Technology/Service providers will use MIRIAM to identify areas for target marketing. As the tool is developed, additional end users will be targetted and customised displays developed to suit their needs.