**5. Residential interface for the community energy project**

#### **5.1. Outline of the community information system**

In the Shinchi community energy project, heat is supplied to the Shinchi Station area through cogeneration, while power is supplied to surrounding residences. In addition, the plan includes construction of residences such as company dorms for community companies and permanent residence housing in the area around the station.

and renewable energy will be combined to predict power generation and CO2

and each home will use a "Shinchi Life Assist Tablet" as the display terminal.

CT for photovoltaic (PV) power generation systems.

**Figure 7.** Power measurement device installed in each home.

this prediction information will be used as the control information. On the demand side, a power measurement device was installed at each home with the system introduced (**Figure 7**),

Introduction of Low-Carbon Community Energy Systems by Combining Information Networks…

The power measurement device analyzes the main power line and the branch lines using a current transformer (CT). This device measures the purchased power from the electric power system at the distribution board. The purchasing and selling of power are also measured by a

A connection with the CEMS that comprehensively manages supplier information in the Shinchi Station area still needs to be developed, but various other functions of the system, such as visualization of energy use on the demand side, are already available. At the present phase of social demonstration and implementation, tablet terminals have been distributed to 75 households in Shinchi. Briefing sessions, individual visits, seminars, and opinion exchange meetings are often held. Operation is stable and communication with residents is maintained. The electricity consumption data obtained by this system have been already utilized for energy consumption modeling in Shinchi [24]. In 2016, the system was opened to allow for use with typical personal computers and smartphones in addition to the distributed tablet terminal. In this manner, information can be remotely obtained and viewed in real time. **Figure 8** shows the display on a tablet terminal. Power consumption can be viewed in real time with the "Shinchi Life Assist Tablet," which displays a comparison with the previous day or year, the energy conservation ranking compared to other households, power uses within the community, and power-saving messages. Through this process, the system encourages

emissions, and

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Based on this plan, the National Institute for Environmental Studies has developed an information system that will be used as the residential interface for the community energy project. This information system is presently in the social demonstration and implementation phase. It was developed as part of the future city "smart hybrid town" concept discussed above. With this information system, a central control server system "smart hybrid center" is constructed on the cloud server, and users utilize a tablet terminal called the "Shinchi Life Assist Tablet" to receive information. In this manner, a bilateral community ICT base is actualized.

**Figure 6** shows a schematic of the energy in the system that is currently being developed. At its most basic, the supply is power procured from existing power companies, but in the future, it will be power supplied from the community energy project in Shinchi. At that time, cogeneration

**Figure 6.** A control flow chart of the community information system.

and renewable energy will be combined to predict power generation and CO2 emissions, and this prediction information will be used as the control information. On the demand side, a power measurement device was installed at each home with the system introduced (**Figure 7**), and each home will use a "Shinchi Life Assist Tablet" as the display terminal.

The power measurement device analyzes the main power line and the branch lines using a current transformer (CT). This device measures the purchased power from the electric power system at the distribution board. The purchasing and selling of power are also measured by a CT for photovoltaic (PV) power generation systems.

A connection with the CEMS that comprehensively manages supplier information in the Shinchi Station area still needs to be developed, but various other functions of the system, such as visualization of energy use on the demand side, are already available. At the present phase of social demonstration and implementation, tablet terminals have been distributed to 75 households in Shinchi. Briefing sessions, individual visits, seminars, and opinion exchange meetings are often held. Operation is stable and communication with residents is maintained. The electricity consumption data obtained by this system have been already utilized for energy consumption modeling in Shinchi [24]. In 2016, the system was opened to allow for use with typical personal computers and smartphones in addition to the distributed tablet terminal. In this manner, information can be remotely obtained and viewed in real time.

**Figure 8** shows the display on a tablet terminal. Power consumption can be viewed in real time with the "Shinchi Life Assist Tablet," which displays a comparison with the previous day or year, the energy conservation ranking compared to other households, power uses within the community, and power-saving messages. Through this process, the system encourages

**Figure 6.** A control flow chart of the community information system.

**5. Residential interface for the community energy project**

In the Shinchi community energy project, heat is supplied to the Shinchi Station area through cogeneration, while power is supplied to surrounding residences. In addition, the plan includes construction of residences such as company dorms for community companies and

Based on this plan, the National Institute for Environmental Studies has developed an information system that will be used as the residential interface for the community energy project. This information system is presently in the social demonstration and implementation phase. It was developed as part of the future city "smart hybrid town" concept discussed above. With this information system, a central control server system "smart hybrid center" is constructed on the cloud server, and users utilize a tablet terminal called the "Shinchi Life Assist Tablet" to

**Figure 6** shows a schematic of the energy in the system that is currently being developed. At its most basic, the supply is power procured from existing power companies, but in the future, it will be power supplied from the community energy project in Shinchi. At that time, cogeneration

receive information. In this manner, a bilateral community ICT base is actualized.

**5.1. Outline of the community information system**

108 Sustainable Air Conditioning Systems

permanent residence housing in the area around the station.

**Figure 7.** Power measurement device installed in each home.

**5.2. An example of power monitoring results**

months.

**6. Energy simulations**

savings, CO2

simulation are summarized below.

**6.1. Simulation model and energy demand data**

energy simulation is shown in **Figure 10**.

**Figure 9** shows an example of a data summary obtained from power monitoring. Because there is a large variation among individual data, we have presented diurnal patterns averaged for weekdays, weekends/holidays, and seasons. Results show a diurnal pattern of typical domestic energy consumption, with peaks in the morning and evening. When weekdays and weekends/holidays were compared in **Figure 9(a)**, a large peak was observed around 6 a.m. on weekdays, which rapidly decreased by around 9 a.m. In contrast, this trend was much weaker on weekends/holidays, and power usage was higher during the day on weekends/holidays. Seasonal comparison based on **Figure 9(b)** shows a large peak in the morning during winter, but summer usage is similar to spring and fall usage, indicating that a large heating load occurs as people turn their heaters on upon waking. Subsequently, power usage during the day before bedtime was higher for summer and winter than the other seasons, showing that increased cooling and heating loads occur in the summer and winter

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**5.3. Connection with the Shinchi Station district CEMS and future outlook**

Introduction of automatic demand response control is being evaluated for the community energy project in the JR Shinchi Station district redevelopment area. Automatic demand response control involves a bidirectional information network that connects the demand and supply sides and automatic control of cooling, heating, and lighting based on the demand. In this manner, reductions can be made to peak loads and excess power at existing power plants, the heat and power balance at cogeneration plants can be adjusted, and the demand and supply balance can be controlled when introducing unstable power, such as natural energy.

Energy simulations were used to calculate electricity and gas consumption, which is the core component of fuel costs in energy service businesses. The input conditions for the energy

In this simulation, input data were provided, and we calculated the load allotment of various heat sources based on input data and the setting of the driving order. Next, we calculated city gas and electricity consumption based on the coefficient of performance (COP) of the heat source equipment, efficiency data, and so on. Based on this result, we calculated the energy

The estimate for energy demand was based on the consumption rates that were selected during the master plan investigation (**Tables 2** and **3**). In turn, these calculated consumption rates were based on reference materials from past studies, hearings, and estimates made for exist-

ing similar facilities (please refer to the master plan report for details).

reductions, and running costs for this system. The calculation for the flow of

**Figure 8.** Example of the energy display on a Shinchi Life Assist Tablet.

people to save electricity proactively during power shortages, thereby voluntarily adjusting the supply and demand balance and reducing or shifting power peaks. Furthermore, through incentives such as community energy conservation campaigns and provision of information regarding power usage for each household, community energy supply and demand can be improved, and actual energy conservation activity can be measured.

A community energy conservation campaign has already been implemented using this information system, contributing to improved awareness of energy conservation and a more engaged community. This energy conservation campaign also demonstrates implementation of energy conservation activities; effective results were obtained regarding the provision of energy conservation information and added economic incentives for residents [25].

**Figure 9.** Example of power monitoring results.
