Energy Efficiency Optimization, Research Paper Example

Introduction

The internet of things involves the interconnectivity of daily things such as applications, networks, people, sensors and other technologies. It is in short, the interconnectivity between the physical world and the digital world. The interconnected devices such as sensors and actuators work in collaboration to collect data from the physical world i.e., the environment or the human body and then transmit the same over the network into the applications or the internet. Example of sensors that are utilized in the IOT is the Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), they work hand in hand with the actuators. The Internet of Things has been one of the hottest topics in the recent years and it is predicted that by 2030 an increased number of devices shall be part of the Internet of Things. The RFIDs require batteries for them to function, the energy from the battery facilitates their operation.

The mechanism of IoT consist of various aspects such as sensing, communication, identification, computation, services and even semantics. Identification is key since it ensures that all the significant data is sent to the correct addresses. Sensing detects and collects data from the various resources and sends the same to the data centers. The same data is then analyzed using different environments and constraints for different purposes. Sensors can be used to collect humidity and temperature details. Communication in IoT performs the combination of varied objects to offer certain services. Communication is mostly facilitated by Bluetooth, WI-FI and other networks. Microcontrollers, software applications and Microprocessors are the ones that play the computation roles in IoT. Services involves identity, collaboration and information aggregation while semantics deals mostly with the intelligent gathering of knowledge in order to make decisions. In this paper, I will be discussing the applications of IoT, the problem of energy consumption in IoT and a solution model for the same.

Applications of IoT

Internet of Things is revolutionizing the world. It has led to the improved decision-making, delivery of service and even reduced some risks. Below are a number of ways in which the Internet of Things is being utilized.

To begin with, IoT has facilitated the growth and development Smart Homes, individuals have equipped their homes with IoT technologies such as the RFID sensors to track activities of the people in the building and can even help in making smart decisions at home. A good example is a smart fridge can have RFIDs on the items that are inside and this can provide useful data i.e., the kind of food stuff that is out of stock and requires to be refilled.

Food supply chain also utilizes the IoT technology, the vendors track production of produce, from the farm to the market, and even to the end users. The IoT devices can be used to collect the production data as well as data concerning the different food items to facilitate decisions on food security. IoT is also utilized in the transportation industry, in the tracking of vehicles using sensors from the source to the destinations in real-time.

IoT facilitates the collection of patient data and tracking of certain condition in the healthcare sector. The sensors can be implanted on the patient’s gowns to track their activities. Also, the wearable devices have sensors and tend to communicate real data. The combination of the different smart domains forms up the smart cities.

Problems of IOT  

The technological advancements come with good things. However, there are challenges that occur due to the technologies that are emerging. One of the most feared challenges of IoT is the security and privacy of data, this is because the devices and the networks are prone to attacks from the enemies who are always targeting information for their own selfish reasons.

In this paper I will be more focused on the problem of energy consumption and emission by the IoT devices. As mentioned in my introduction, the RFIDs require battery energy for them to function properly. It is predicted that in the future, more devices will be part of the IoT networks and that means that more energy will be consumed. Data that is collected is stored and analyzed in data centers. The same data is then deployed to the cloud data centers for more secure storage and further analytics the data centers consume mega amounts of energy while functioning.

The IoT technology utilizes the wireless network for almost all of its mechanism. The wireless data transmission and communication consumes more energy as compared to the wired technologies. The data Centers are handling a lot of processing and analytics thus consumes a lot of energy and emits CO2 in return thus resulting to the pollution of our environment.

The world should focus on IoT going green because we could damage our environment while focusing on the advantages of IoT technology. There are ways in which companies as well as individuals can facilitate energy effectiveness as well as safety of the environment while at the same enjoying the benefits of the IoT technology. I will be discussing the software-based model that will optimize energy efficiency in the IoT network.

Solution Model

There a number of green IoT approaches, some are software based, some are hardware based and others involves policies, awareness and even recycling. This model is Software based; it focuses on how software can be reconfigured in order to minimize consumption of energy as well as emission of CO2.

This model utilizes a platform that senses the the levels of energy consumptions. This helps to decrease consumption of energy by the IoT devices as well as the data centers. The sensing platform is made up of sensors that are integrated with the data centers to detect the energy efficiency of the data center and perform the measures that include cooling, power distribution, turning off all the idle IT equipment’s and turning on the CPU’s power-management feature.

Most of the IT equipment in the data centers are lightly used, they also consume lots of energy as long as they are turned on. A server of architecture X86 tends to consume about 40 percent energy when it is idle. This model mitigates such waste of energy by detecting idle IT devices in a data center and turning them off and on when needed for use. The platform also detects high and low performances and lowers the CPU’s voltage and frequency whenever the CPU is not doing much processing.

One of the most effective features of this model is that it helps with cooling of the data center whenever there high processing and lots of heat is being emitted. The platform triggers the chillers to cool the room to perform the cooling effect on the room. This model is more focused on the data centers but it facilitates the reduction of energy consumption levels and thus a green IoT network. Such progressivism brings into perspective the realization of effective and efficient systems in operation. Eventually, this foresees the growth of new advances in the processing of information.

Conclusion

The internet of things involves the interconnection between devices, networks and people. The various IoT mechanisms include identification, communication, services and semantics. Data is collected from the various sources and transmitted to the specific destinations for analysis and even storage. IoT facilitates better decision making and tracking in the various sectors such as healthcare, supply chain and even food security. However, the IoT network has some challenges that comes with it and that is energy consumption. The devices consume a lot of energy and even emit carbon-monoxide, which is a pollutant to the environment. To mitigate such, the discussed model facilitates cooling, turns of idle equipment and even lowers the frequency and the voltage of the CPU whenever the processing is not that heavy. The solution is an optimization of energy efficiency. The development of an understanding concerning what IoT entails remains an element that would significantly revolutionize the technology sector. Many people prefer establishing a significant rapport with technology. In such a case, then IoT comes handy to ensure that systems are in place to enhance effectives in service delivery. in its capacity, IoT has the capacity to spearhead the next phase of technological growth and development in the world.