FAME4ME – The Project for AI-based and User-Oriented Management of Energy Services

Intelligent energy management in smart living and building environments can contribute to the energy transition, for example by increasing the use of renewable energies through controlled consumption or by providing flexibility potential for the system. The central objective of the »FAME4ME« research project is to investigate the potential applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in relation to future energy services for private end customers dealing with topics such as smart meters, energy management and time-variable electricity tariffs. The project is supported by the BMWK as part of the SmartLivingNEXT funding program.

As part of the project, various tariffs and representative customer groups and use cases will initially be defined. At the same time, a user-friendly app is being developed that offers an intuitive visualization of generation forecasts and price signals as well as individualized recommendations for action. AI methods are used, for example, to analyse customer groups and design personalized tariff models in order to offer customer-specific energy services. In addition, possibilities for AI-based complexity reduction are being investigated using recommendations and adaptive interfaces.

The entire project is being implemented in a field test together with industry partners in order to test the defined use cases and prospective tariff models under almost real conditions. Customer interaction mainly takes place via the developed app. The collected data, including customer reactions to price signals, real generation and demand, is analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The focus is on improving the benefits from the customer's perspective and evaluating the acceptance and effectiveness of the respective tariffs. In addition, AI models are being developed as digital twin in order to map user behavior and technical conditions and to expand the scope of investigation beyond the field test.

In addition to the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), the project partners include the University of Würzburg, the energy provider EnBW - Energie Baden-Württemberg AG - and the industrial partner Countrol GmbH, thus creating a link between science and application-oriented research.