DATELINE 1 APRIL, 2020:  Some readers will remember the so-called ‘signature meter’ that was marketed ten or so years ago. This was a kWh meter which could reportedly discriminate between over 83 different connected electrical appliances being turned on and off. It did not take off at the time but thanks to the current transition from big data to immense data (ID) the concept has returned in the guise of ‘software-defined electricity’.

With software-defined electricity your power supply waveform would be sampled more than 37 times a microsecond, processed in the cloud and dynamically corrected to remove spikes, holes and resonant ramps so that connected equipment uses less energy, runs cooler, and enjoys extended life. Phase-shifting arrays (similar to those used in multi-antenna 5G beam-forming transmitters) will allow a parallel-wired power conditioner to target individual loads on a customer’s premises so that they operate as an internet-of-things (IoT), each at its own unique current and frequency, thereby running cooler and enjoying extended life.

With people increasingly working from home, it even allows their additional energy expenditure to be monitored and charged back to their employer. In effect, every connected device will act as its own microgrid with blockchain technology embedded in the optimisation algorithm to give near-real-time trading and market reconciliation up to the seventh harmonic, using less energy, running cooler and enjoying extended life. Exciting stuff and all thanks to the Immense-Data Internet of Things (IDIoT).