Today computers it is essential in our life, our companies, our studies and our data… Big Data is essential in all this.
The truth is that except for the translation of the word itself "Big data" few people really master the term and the implications that reality has.
Extrapolating the concept, the truth is that Big Data is linked to the possibility of processing a large amount of information that allows finding a pattern or a way of acting, so that its analysis gives us a guide to make the most appropriate decisions at a given moment.
The evolution of technology has allowed that on the one hand they can be stored large volumes of information and, on the other hand, it is possible to have equipment capable of analyzing this huge amount of data in a short space of time. And we are not talking about several Gigabytes, but about Petabytes.
The need to analyze all the information
In addition, data can be collected today in a wide variety of ways. Without a doubt, social networks have become an almost infinite source of data. Analyzing them you can know what people like, what music do you listen to, what cars do you like best without even having to ask. We can know which tourist destination is going to become fashionable next summer or which movie is going to be more successful.
What matters is not the specific data of a certain person, but those of several thousand or even millions and also knowing it in real time. The idea it is not surveying a thousand people To get an idea of what they say they prefer, it is about seeing what a million people really do to find out what they really do and prefer.
The examples are several, from the signing of players (it is advisable to see the movie MoneyBall that with Bratt Pitt as the protagonist shows how to use Big Data in sports) to political campaigns. In 2012 Obama launched a whole Big Data analysis machine to differentiate the communication he sent to convinced voters, those who were undecided or those who were not going to vote for him.
Big Data has been used to know the consumption patterns of those attending the Gay Parade or the Mobile World Congress in the weeks prior to said events, comparing them with the week of the event itself. This allows improvement for future events.
Energy Efficiency thanks to Big Data
But there are fields in which the use of Big Data it goes more unnoticed and is truly essential. Thus, the concepts of Big Data and Energy Efficiency or energy management are essential. In order for the energy system to function, it is essential to cross production data with consumption data. Red Eléctrica de España needs to coordinate what energy enters the grid at all times to match it with the energy that each of the 46 million Spaniards have.
The energy that is thrown into the grid and is not consumed is lost. That is why it is key to know the Consuming patterns energy in such a way that an energy demand is anticipated by energy production.
Thus, when for example there is a Barça Madrid, Electric Network knows that when rest comes there will be a peak of energy because millions of people use those 15 minutes to cook, shower….
Installation of smart meters
In recent years with the installation of smart meters the amount of data available to electricity supply companies and the electricity grid has increased considerably. In this way they can know what promotions they can make to customers, based on their historical consumption patterns.
It is also possible, through predictive analysis, to anticipate anomalies or even detect fraud such as direct and irregular hookups to the network.
Establishment of regulatory frameworks
But in the field of energy, big data can also open the door, once the adequate legislative frameworks that allow it, to the generalized implementation of distributed generation. In such a way that both private consumers and small businesses can become, with the installation of renewable energies, essential elements in the electrical energy production and consumption network.
If you can anticipate the consumption and production patterns of a certain group, we could count on the electricity that these small producers are going to pour into the grid.
The complicated management that can mean that thousands of points are, depending on the moment, net producers or consumers through the so-called net balance, is one of the arguments that have been put forward against the liberalization of production and commercialization of renewable energy in Spain.
It is true that it can be complex to manage the fact that there could be several million households that had their own capacity to generation of energy with renewable sources. Depending on the type of energy and the weather conditions (temperature, wind, clouds, etc.) its consumption or production profile would change completely and therefore the network should anticipate these guidelines and absorb or provide the necessary energy.
But big data is probably the key that will enable this change. By entering all the data that is available today, it will be possible to know who will need energy and when. It can be known, in an aggregate way, and taking into account the patterns of each momentIf there is going to be energy reaching the grid by small producers in a moment or if, on the contrary, they are going to consume all that they produce without pouring anything out. That this is difficult is not a valid argument for not meeting the challenge.
Big data as a key
The management of big data together with the enormous amount of information currently available to the electrical system opens up incredible possibilities, which will surely help to create smart green cities ... Big data is the key.
very cool
Very cool information.