Analysis of Smart Meter Data With Machine Learning for Implications Targeted Towards Residents

Abstract

Previous studies examining the electricity consumption behavior using traditional research methods, before the smart-meter era, mostly worked on fewer variables, and the practical implications of the findings were predominantly tailored towards suppliers and businesses rather than residents. This study first provides an overview of prior research findings on electric energy use patterns and their predictors in the pre and post smart-meter era, honing in on machine learning techniques for the latter. It then addresses identified gaps in the literature by: 1) analyzing a highly detailed dataset containing a variety of variables on the physical, demographic, and socioeconomic characteristics of households using unsupervised machine learning algorithms, including feature selection and cluster analysis; and 2) examining the environmental attitude of high consumption and low consumption clusters to generate practical implications for residents.