Online non-intrusive load monitoring: A review

Abstract

Significant progress has been achieved in managing energy consumption in the residential sector in recent years. However, the industrial sector requires better coverage due to its substantial challenges. Non-intrusive load monitoring (NILM) provides a solution for energy monitoring, enabling appliance tracking by observing only the aggregated energy consumption. The online information at the device level can offer deeper insights into the origin of energy consumption and facilitate the optimization of strategic load scheduling and demand management. Particularly in industrial settings, online NILM has become increasingly relevant, with potential benefits such as energy reduction, operational optimization, and improved productivity. This monitoring approach plays a crucial role in minimizing downtime, reducing maintenance costs, and extending the lifespan of industrial assets. This paper aims to contribute to this field by offering an overview of online disaggregation techniques. It begins with a contemporary review of NILM methodologies and examines techniques specifically designed for online applications. Additionally, the article details the hardware implementations associated with the discussed NILM approaches.