A Network of Information Technology Centered in Bridgewater
It takes many people and many skills to launch an innovative new project. Bridgewater’s Energy Management Information System (EMIS) will gather and analyze real-time information about household comfort levels and energy use. It is the first community-based project of its kind.
The Energize Bridgewater team at the Town of Bridgewater is working with several partners to create EMIS. This network of expertise stretches from Dartmouth to Toronto and beyond—but it is centered here in our community and is focused on Energize Bridgewater’s goal to reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
Collecting Energy-Use Data
Wayne Groszko works with the Applied Energy Research Lab at the Nova Scotia Community College in Dartmouth. The lab helps communities and businesses develop sustainable energy solutions, often related to solar power.
For Energize Bridgewater, Wayne and his team are building a system with sensors—the hardware—that will be installed in homes and buildings. The sensors look like small plastic boxes and will measure temperature, humidity, light, and patterns in electricity use. These sensors share data to a secure network.
Wayne has worked on climate change issues since 2003. He says his passion is helping to reduce greenhouse gases and energy use in general. “The practical, hands-on work of the Energy Lab is very satisfying,” he says, “especially when applied to the forward-thinking projects of Energize Bridgewater.”
From Data to Information
Here in Bridgewater, three software developers are creating a way to transform raw data collected by sensors into information that will help residents and Energize Bridgewater staff make energy-saving decisions.
Jenish Patel joined Energize Bridgewater as full-time staff in April after completing a master’s degree in Applied Computer Science at Dalhousie University. Jenish is programming the connections—or data pipeline—between the sensors and the website where the information will be viewed and analyzed. “During my degree, I became more aware of the many ways we are polluting the environment,” Jenish says.
Hargun Chhabra and Shivam Dinesh Rank are in their final year of the Master of Applied Computer Science program at Dalhousie University. This summer, they are employed as co-op students with Energize Bridgewater.
In addition to working with Jenish on the data pipeline, Shivam is developing a chatbot that will address questions posed by EMIS participants. Hargun is also constructing the data pipeline as well as developing a way to store data from the EMIS project.
Hargun says that while growing up in India, he noticed many simple, everyday ways to save energy, for example using pressure cookers. “I am passionate about finding new ways to help people save energy and costs,” he says.
A Secure, Accessible User Experience
How will residents and Energize Bridgewater staff access the information from the EMIS project? How will privacy and security be ensured? Dheeraj Joshi and Michelle van der Vecht at BAAR Technologies are working to answer these questions.
BAAR Technologies is located in the Greater Toronto Area. The company creates secure, user-friendly ways to access complex websites and data systems.
Dheeraj is the Vice President of Business Solutions at BAAR. "Energy affordability is a problem right across the country," he says. "It is a privilege to be part of the EMIS project." A software developer with 27 years of experience, Dheeraj and his colleagues at BAAR Technologies will create the portal for the EMIS project. The portal is what residents will see and interact with online. It will include graphs that show, for example, the rate of electricity use compared to outdoor temperature. Users will also see alerts when, for example, energy use is unusually high or an appliance has been left on for too long. Michelle is the Manager of Content Strategy at BAAR Technologies. Her job is to make sure that information on the EMIS website is clear and easy to understand.
It Takes a Village
When the EMIS was first proposed, Energize Bridgewater Director, Jessica McDonald, thought the Town would hire one staff person to bring it to life. Over the last couple of years the team learned that it takes a village to make an EMIS. Jessica is excited to have the right partners in place to get to work and bring EMIS to fruition. The system is being finalized and tested this fall, with the goal of making it available for community use in 2024.