Toshiba Corporation and Toshiba Solutions Corporation will demonstrate a home energy monitoring system and community management system (CMS) in the Lyon redevelopment area in Lyon, France. The demonstration is a part of the Lyon Confluence Smart Community Demonstration Project developed by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), with support from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Public housing in the redevelopment area that will be fitted with the home energy monitoring system (Photo Credit: Toshiba Cooperation)

The project is a key element of the Lyon Confluence program organized by the Grand Lyon Community a major redevelopment program for a former industrial and transportation hub in central Lyon, on the lower end of the peninsular formed by the confluence of the Rhone and Saone rivers.

The home energy monitoring system demonstration will measure real-time use of electricity, water and gas by installing measuring equipment in distribution boards and water and gas meters in public apartment houses in the redevelopment area. Measured data will be visualized on tablets distributed to the residents. The tablets will also show the power consumption of individual home appliances and provide advice on ways to save energy, as a means to enhance the residents’ awareness of the environment and to encourage them to reduce energy use. The effects of these efforts will be verified.

Starting with the home energy monitoring system and an electric vehicle sharing system that uses solar energy to recharge vehicles, initiated in October 2013 as another part of the renovation program, the CMS demonstration will collect data and visualize total energy usage in the development area, to support development of a smart community. Data from the Positive Energy Building (PEB) project will be added when it is completed in spring 2015, as will data from other buildings in the redevelopment area. Toshiba Group will analyze energy usage data and share it with Grand Lyon Community, which will determine whether it can be reflected in the redevelopment plan or strategies for achieving improved energy efficiency.

The Lyon Confluence Smart Community Demonstration Project is NEDO’s first demonstration project in Europe and it targets achievement of the EU’s 2020 environmental targets, "20-20-20", five years earlier than the 2020 target year, including achieving zero emissions in the redevelopment area. The project is utilizing technologies that Japanese companies have developed as a means to help to achieve high level energy efficiency, and Toshiba Group is the coordinator of the Japanese companies involved in the project.

Going forward, Toshiba and Toshiba Group will utilize the outcomes of the project to refine technologies that will create extended Smart Communities, and proactively seek to expand global business by cooperating with governments and autonomous bodies.