Design and Implementation of a Web-Based Residential Energy Assessment Platform: A Case Study in Cuenca, Ecuador

Abstract

Population confinement caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in household energy consumption. Electricity consumption in the residential sector in Latin America and the Caribbean increased by 20% during 2020 compared to 2019. Due to the sanitary emergency declaration in Ecuador, an upsurge in electricity consumption was observed at the residential level between March and August of 2020. In this context, residential customers of Cuenca have increased their consumption by around 13% during May 2020 compared to the same month of the previous year. Adopting energy efficiency and sufficiency measures could counteract this increase in energy and contribute to managing the demand in the residential sector. The present work aims to evaluate energy savings and emission reduction in the residential sector in Cuenca through the design and implementation of a web-based platform for estimating electricity power savings. To develop the platform, information was gathered through surveys on the average household’s energy consumption. Power consumption of appliances was obtained from various sources, mainly from a database provided by a local appliance retailer. Energy-saving strategies for electrical and electronic devices were taken from technical guidelines and academic sources. The functional and visual specifications of the platform were designed with specialized tools. The platform allows for calculating household electrical energy consumption and potential savings in energy, economic, and environmental terms in a simple and visually attractive manner. The study shows that a four-member family household consumes an average of 182 kWh/month, equivalent to 17.1 USD, and an annual environmental footprint of 1068.9 kg of CO2. From this energy consumption, 57% is consumed by household appliances, 31% corresponds to technology and entertainment, and 12% represents lighting. Nevertheless, it is possible to reduce monthly energy consumption by 45% if consumers apply energy sufficiency and efficiency measures. This reduction will produce a monthly saving of 7.9 USD and an annual reduction of 485 kg of emissions. By implementing this web-based tool, nonspecialized users can analyze and decide the best way to reduce energy consumption, creating an appropriate energy culture that positively impacts the household economy and promotes environmental sustainability.