A novel power line network architecture for managing the energy resources of the residential environment

Given the energy waste problem and the consequent need for energy optimal use, this paper presents a novel network architecture able to perform real time management of the energy consumed by household appliances. Deploying the recent KNX power line communication technology, the proposed architecture performs three main functions; monitoring of the energy consumed by household devices for metering purposes, management of household devices so that the energy they consume is kept within user-defined limits and management of standby devices for minimal energy consumption.