Turning Today’s Data into Tomorrow’s Reality

摘要

We’ve all heard the buzz, big data is going to transform our world, but as demand sidernmanagement (DSM) program implementers and designers, we are already there. Each day werngenerate an enormous volume of important market data, from calculating measure savings, tornprocessing incentive payments, to analyzing home and commercial facility audits thatrncharacterize the conditions found in structures across the United States. But countless differencesrnin vocabulary, building classifications, program data frames and other jurisdiction specificrndifference render use of the data a daunting endeavor. How can we leverage the data we generaternnow, before “big data” gets rolling? What should we be doing to prepare our data for analysis?rnWhat does our world look like in the future?rnIn this paper, we will answer these questions by examining two very differentrnapplications of data: a simple use of Geographic Information Systems to help characterize therncommercial facilities within a utility service area for more targeted program outreach and design,rnand a recent award-winning application of residential customer energy use data to design arnmobile phone application that interacts with the user about personal energy use. We’ll explainrnhow each project applied data, what type and how accessible that data is, and then explore howrneach example points to a more sophisticated, broader effort to leverage data generated in currentrnratepayer funded energy efficiency programs. Starting to use what you already know is thernstarting point for identifying, with big data, what you seek to understand.