1. Protect Consumer Privacy from Load Monitoring

2. The smart metering technique allows users and power companies to get more accurate power usage data
Balanced generation and consumption
Save money (both company and end users)
More environment friendly

3. The problem: disclosure of the users’ privacy
We can actually generate the fingerprint of the power consumption of different devices
New smart meter allows you to sample the power usage each second
Match the usage changes to the signatures of the devices
What you are using, whether or not you are at home, noise level, ----

6. How can we hide the information:
Non-intrusive load leveling
Add a battery to the circuit
Try to maintain a flat level of usage
When consumption is low, charge
When consumption is high, discharge

7. Sounds pretty straightforward, right?
If you have a battery with really huge capacity, then yes
But:
Complexity
Cost
Dynamics
Properties of the battery

8. Goals Make the power usage at about Kss
The battery is running at about 50% -- 80% full
Never lower than 20%
Not higher than 90%

9. If the SOC is very low and the real time usage is larger than Kss
If the battery’s SOC is high, and the real time usage is smaller than Kss
You are setting the Kss too high (so the battery is always charging)
Need to lower the target
If the SOC is very low and the real time usage is larger than Kss
Setting the Kss too low (the battery is always discharging)
Need to increase the value

10. Evaluation Setup

13. Feature reduction results