Adopting digital twin technology to manage the power of idle devices could save organisations thousands of pounds a year, according to new research from the University of Glasgow.

Engineers from Glasgow’s James Watt School of Engineering have developed a prototype of a digital tool which they claim can monitor and manage ‘phantom load’ – electricity consumed by devices when they are plugged into mains power but are not in active use. 

Previous research has shown that up to a third of electricity usage can be accounted for by this vampire drain, with the Glasgow team setting out to develop a more intelligent, adaptive approach to managing phantom load using digital twinning and smart sensors to capture real-world data on electricity use.

The team’s system draws data from a network of smart energy sensors, which send information on electricity to a central server using the LoRaWAN protocol, a widely-used standard in ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) systems.

The server uses sophisticated “fuzzy-logic” algorithms to identify power usage patterns, and can identify when a device is being used, and when it’s drawing phantom power. When the system detects prolonged idle periods, it then sends users a prompt on their screen to determine if they’re conducting remote work or running background processes.

The approach aims to raise awareness of idle periods and encourage users to make more careful use of their devices, while preventing legitimate work processes from being cut off. 

If users don’t respond or confirm the device isn’t needed, the system can automatically switch off the equipment, cutting off its phantom load altogether. The system can also draw the data it gathers to make predictions about the likely electricity consumption of devices for the next day.

The team validated the potential of the tool by applying it to a lab at the University of Glasgow, home to workstations connected to more than thirty power-drawing devices.

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According to the researchers, using the tool in the lab reduced the total power consumption of the workstations by around 40% each week by carefully managing electricity use, and estimated it could reduce total phantom load by 82%, saving around £9,000 in energy costs every year if used full-time.

“Reaching net zero will require a broad-spectrum approach to energy monitoring, and this tool could be a valuable part of wider institutional approaches to minimising their carbon footprint using digital twins to monitor variables like occupancy and temperature control,” said Dr Ahmad Taha, project lead.

“We’re working to investigate how this tool could play a role in the University’s wider efforts to achieve net-zero by 2030, and we’re keen to explore in parallel how it could be used in other universities, businesses and even in homes in the years to come.”