Integrating submetering and NILM for building smart readiness

This article examines how submetering (Intrusive Load Monitoring- ILM) and Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring (NILM) can enhance smart readiness in residential buildings. Submetering provides precise data on energy use across different zones or systems, enabling detailed audits, cost allocation, and performance optimisation, though it often requires costly infrastructural changes. NILM offers a more scalable alternative by using a single meter and advanced algorithms to estimate energy use by individual appliances, though its accuracy can be challenged by complex loads. The proposed framework introduces both methods, allowing for a step-by-step increase in monitoring complexity as needed. By enabling finer control of individual loads in a building, this framework contributes to achieving smart readiness in residential buildings for more sustainable and intelligent living environments by optimising energy efficiency, operational performance, and occupant engagement while reducing costs.