Energy Saving with ICT-- Green University of Tokyo Project -Kaoru YOSHIDA, Ph.D
Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc., Japan
E-mail : kaoru@mri.co.jp
Hiroshi Esaki, Ph.D
Graduate School of Information Science and Technology,
The University of Tokyo, Japan
E-mail : hiroshi@wide.ad.jp
Abstract
Energy saving and the protection of environment forsustainable society is now global agenda, that we mustachieve for the next generation and for our Earth. This
activity around IT and ICT industry is called as “GreenIT/ICT”. Though the most of the Green IT/ICT would
focus on the energy saving “of” IT/ICT equipments, weare focusing on the energy saving “by” IT/ICTtechnologies. The real target is not the energy saving, but
is to establish ubiquitous digital sensor and actuator
network environment and to encourage the technicalinnovation/revolution or new applications using thisnetwork platform. This is the “end-to-end” model that theInternet has achieved.
In this presentation, the speaker gives the overview ofR&D projects related with energy saving, e.g., Green
University of Tokyo Project. The real goal of theseprojects is sharing any digital information over the globe
to achieve higher efficiency on human and social
activities and to establish the digital network
infrastructure to achieve sustainable innovations.

at the campus and to realize a sustainable society in theworld. The Green University of Tokyo Project (GUTP)
has started its activity since June 2008 complying with theTSCP.
The main role of the GUTP is to establish IT/ICT
based facility management systems and to reduce electric
consumption through optimized facility controls. Since
the university consists of multidiscipline laboratories,
there exist various technical challenges to overcome.
There exist various facility management systems thataim not only to manage facilities but also to reduce or
optimize energy consumption, but most of previous
approaches usually require proprietary systems to develop.
Due to its proprietary, it is hard to adapt new features byourselves or to inter-connect different systems. As a result,
it is impossible to manage facilities in a building with asingle facility management system.
Different from those previous works, the GUTP aims
to deploy open facility management system based on open
architecture specification. Providing an open and astandard protocol for facility managements, the projecttries to be a referential model of facility managements forcomplexes.

Key words: The Internet, Facility Management,
Mieruka, Electric Consumption

2.

1.

2.1. Project Overview

BackgroundDue to the current trend of tackling global warming,
reducing electric consumption becomes one of the biggest
topics in the industrial sector. Kyoto Protocol [1] hasentered into force in 2005, and then Japan takes a
responsibility to reduce green house gas by 6% compared
to it in 1990.
In 2006, Hongo Campus of the University of Tokyo
emitted huge volume of CO2, and therefore the energysaving is one of pressing issues to address for theuniversity. Todai Sustainable Campus Project (TSCP) [2]
has started its activity since 2008 to reduce CO2 emission

Green University of Tokyo Project

The GUTP [3] has started its activities since June 2008
complying with the TSCP. The basic goal of the project isto show technical approaches of reducing CO2 emissions,more properly electric consumption. To achieve theenergy saving, the scope of the project contains both “of”
and “by” IT/ICT for the energy saving. In detail, we, ourproject members, try to not only save electric
consumption of IT/ICT equipments but also adapt IT/ICT
technologies for more efficient and intelligent facility
managements.

To demonstrate and validate our approaches, we set up
an experimental field in the Faculty of Engineering Bld.2(Eng. Bldg.2) and conduct various types of demonstration
experiments there.
At the same time, since we do realize that compulsory
energy-saving activities do not work well as ourexperiences, we recognize that there should be a way that
all the people are willing to tackle the energy saving. So,
through demonstrating energy-saving experiments wealso try to model a scenario that make people tackle theenergy saving.
Project members mainly consist of private companies,
universities and organizations/associations and various
types of companies participate in the project; some ofthem are giant electronic corporate, some of others focus
on facility managements and some of the rest are trading
companies. The project started with twenty-sevencompanies/organizations and now the number ofparticipants becomes forty-one as of 1st September, 2009.
Since the project has not been funded by public
institutions such as government agencies or nationalinstitutes, the project activities are supported byparticipants’ budgets.

2.2. Structure of GUTP
To achieve two main objectives; (1) Saving energy“of” IT/ICT equipments and “by” IT/ICT technologies;(2) modeling a scenario that people can actively tackle forthe energy saving, the project forms five technicalworking groups (WGs); Concept WG, Facility ControlWG, Experiment WG, Mieruka (Making Visible) WG
and Protocol Standard WG. Each WG plays an importantrole for managing our PDCA (plan-do-check-act) cycle asshown in Figure 1.

Protocol Standard WG was established relativelyrecent. The goal of Protocol Standard WG is to design /formulate a standard protocol for facility managements.
Although there exist “standard” protocols for facility
managements, those protocols have problems for theinteroperability between them.

3.

In this section, we introduce our achievements so far.
Especially, we focus on measurement systems of electric
consumptions and Mieruka tools.

3.1. Protocol Design and Implementation
We design the protocol architecture so that the system has
the feature of “Eco-System” 1 . With the author’s
understanding, the followings are some of requiredfeatures for Eco-Systems;(1) Independency of individuals and sub-systems
Each individual and sub-system must live or beoperate-able by themselves, at least temporally.
(2) Autonomous operation of individuals and subsystems
Each individual and sub-system can make theiroperational and governance rules by themselves.
(3) Interaction among individuals and sub-systems
Individual and sub-system have some level ofinteraction, e.g., cooperation and collaboration,with other individuals and sub-systems.
(4) Adaptability against the change of environment
Individual and sub-system can adapt themselves,according to the change of environment.
Also, we consider that the Internet architecture does notmean the particular protocol suites, such as existing
TCP/IP. TCP/IP itself has experienced a lot of protocol
modifications and functional enhancements, during thedeployment of global Internet system. We must recognizethat the Internet architecture is the “logical” architecture
framework, not the particular protocol sets nor routers andswitches.
1Figure 1 GUTP’s PDCA Cycle

Here, the roles of Concept WG are to produce a modelthat makes people actively tackle for the energy saving
and to enlighten people on the energy saving. FacilityControl WG and Experiment WG actively conduct
demonstration experiments in the Eng. Bldg. 2.
Achievements of the WGs so far are to develop anddeploy IT/ICT based facility measurement systems in thebuilding. Mieruka WG mainly focuses on visualization(Mieruka) of data which Facility Control WG collects.

Energy Saving “by”/”of” ICT

An Eco-System is a natural unit consisting of all plants,
animals and micro-organisms in an area functioningtogether with all of the physical factors of theenvironment. Ecosystems can be permanent or temporary,
in both spatial domain and in time domain. An EcoSystem is a unit of interdependent organisms which sharethe same habitat. Eco-Systems usually form a number offood webs/chains, as the interaction among theindependent organisms. In the area of economics, theEco-System is defined as a business structure among
related organizations (e.g., private companies), which
form the cooperative and collaborative business activities
to yield benefits and innovations for themselves.

Therefore, we design the protocol architecture of theGreen University of Tokyo system, so as to include thefollowing five essential features of the Internetarchitecture. These are (1) autonomous, (2) distributed,(3) disconnected, (4) inter-domain, and (5) global,operation. The current Internet system has beenchallenged by the following three aspects; global,ubiquitous and mobility.
The followings are yet other design parameters for us.
(a) Impossible to accommodate earth with single
technology
We have wide variety of technologies so as toconnect the digital devices, especially in the fieldof facility networks. In order to maintain thecontinuous innovation of networking technology,
we have to intentionally maintain the capabilityof alternativeness in the networking components.
This feature, i.e., diversity and replace-ability,
leads to the aspect of sustainability andadaptability in Eco-System.
(b) Investment and operation is always autonomous
Installation and operation of system by the single
organization is neither scalable nor realistic. We
have to design the system, which collaborates
and cooperates to each other in a distributed andautonomous manner.
(c) We have large area where, even, wireless wouldbe hard to use
Though we have a lot of nodes, which areconnected to the network via wireless links, wewill still have a lot of nodes and area, which
could not be connected to the Internet. This willbe true in facility networks, when we havemobile objects in the system.
Figure 2 shows the overview of protocol architecture in
the GUTP system, developed in our real office indowntown Tokyo, Japan. The design principle is; (1)common database, i.e., database centric, (2)accommodating various types of field-buses and subsystems and (3) common APIs for database system andfield-buses from applications. So as to accommodate
various types of field-buses and sub-systems, we adopt (a)the XML routing among these heterogeneous sub-systems
as a common communication protocol, (b) pub-subsystem (as a DTN capability) and (c) IP technology in the
backbone area. By the introduction of XML routing, wecan accommodate various types of field-buses and subsystems, while preserving the capability of smoothmigration to IP-based sub-systems in the future. Also, theintroduction of DTN capability is very important andcritical for the system, so as to improve the operational
robustness in the system.
Figure 3 shows the concrete system diagram of ourGUTP system. The left-bottom square is the system

originally installed in the building. We have added thegateways to connect with the common bus among thesub-systems, such as HVAC or lightening system.
Through the common bus, multiple common databasesystems are installed and operated, autonomously andindependently. Also, the multiple application software isinstalled and operated, autonomously and independently,
as well. With this system configuration, we can provide
the environment where the sub-systems can cooperate andcollaborate to each other. In other words, the legacy
system was enough stupid and expensive to deny thecooperation and collaboration among the sub-systems,
since the sub-systems are isolated by their own
proprietary technologies. By the introduction of commonprotocol, we can provide the opportunity of cooperationand collaboration for these sub-systems, even though they
use their own proprietary technologies. Actually, by theintroduction of this platform, participating players andcomponents start to consider the new applications andricher applications, with small or less cost, compared withthe legacy facility system.

Figure 2 Protocol Overview of GUTP System

Figure 3 System Overview of GUTP

3.2. Developing Measurement Systems
First of all, to save the energy, it is necessary to findout where there is room for the improvement. Since
utilizing the IT/ICT technologies for the energy saving is
one of the important objectives of the project, the project
also applies the IT/ICT technologies to the electric
consumption monitoring.
But there were three issues to develop the IT/ICT
based electric consumption monitoring system inside theEng. Bldg.2 as follows; (1) the building had already beenin the operational phase when the project started in June
2008: (2) the power monitoring system in the building
was not designed to utilize the IT/ICT system: (3) due tothe conventional facility management scheme, powerlines were managed by equipments/sub-systems not byfacilities/users.
As a result, it was hard for users such as faculties,
officers and students to realize how they really use
electronic equipments and emit greenhouse gases.
To monitor the electric consumption through theIT/ICT technologies, the project introduces varioustechniques and technologies. Some of monitoring
technologies the project applies are described below;(1) Standardized facility management protocol:
There exist standardized facility management protocols such as BACnet2®/WS [4] and oBIX3 [5]. In these days,
many companies deploy their equipments so as tointerpret those protocols, and those protocols are now
available through the IT/ICT technologies. So, electric
consumption of equipments can be collected throughthose protocols.
(2) Contactless sensor:
Cimx Corporation deploys and develops ESPDragon® that can collect electric consumption throughsetting up proprietary hardware, contactless sensors,
inside distribution boards. Data collected throughcontactless sensors are sent to a management server
through the Internet and is visualized (Mieruka) there asshown in Figure 4.

2

A Data Communication Protocol for Building Automation andControl Networks; BACnet is a registered trademark ofAmerican Society of Heating, Refrigerating and AirConditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
3OASIS Open Building Information eXchange TechnicalCommittee;(Source: GUTP Experiment WG)
Figure 4 Contactless Sensor Monitoring(3) HD-PLC (Power Line Communication):
PanasonicCorporationdeploysanelectricconsumption monitoring module that works with the HDPLC. The module is set between a socket and a plug, andthen collected data is sent to the Internet through the HDPLC (Figure 5).

(Source: GUTP Experiment WG)
Figure 5 HD-PLC Power Monitoring(4) Power Monitoring for PCs:
Mitsubishi Corporation introduces BigFix® to monitor
electric consumption of PCs (desktop/laptop) and servers
as shown in Figure 6. Different from the above system,
we can measure electric consumption with the BigFix
even when PCs are out of offices. This is useful, becauseespecially laptop PCs are carried by people who movearound in the building and therefore it is hard to trace aunique PC for the purpose of the power monitoring.
Leveraging these techniques/technologies, the project
is now collecting more than 1,500 point data constantly,
which include electronic, gas and water consumptions andfacilities’ status information (as of May 2009). All thecollected data can be accessed through the standard
protocol that the project is now design/formulat-ing.

Office also works with motion sensors, facilities can bemanaged when people use them without a reservation.
We believe that showing the effectiveness encourages
people and makes them tackle the energy saving more
seriously. So, implementing Mieruka should be one of theoptimal ways to show how people’s daily approaches
contribute the energy saving.

(Source: GUTP Experiment WG)
Figure 6 Power Monitoring for PCs
3.3. Implementing Mieruka for Collected Data
Even though collecting data, users do not makeeffective use of the data for the energy saving unless users
can easily access to the data. Furthermore, the data should
be not only accessible but also understandable for users.
To provide the easily understandable data to users, theproject recognizes that implementing Mieruka (makingvisible) should be one of the ways.
In the project, some of member companies, such asCimx Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, Ubiteq Inc.
and Digital Electronics Corporation, address on Mieruka,
and what they focus on are listed as follows;(1) Display time-line trend of electric consumption:
As shown in Figure 7, by displaying time-line trend ofelectric consumption such as daily, weekly or monthly,users can notice that how their usages differ in a one dayfrom the one in another day. Also, by comparing thedifference in daily variation, users can examine what kindof activities causes it. Therefore, users could know how
they act next.
(2) Display effectiveness of the energy saving:
By displaying effectiveness of the energy saving
makes, the project tries to show how each people ’ sactivity really contributes the energy saving. Some of thecompanies try to show how the activities can cut the costor protect the environment through Mieruka (Figure 8).
We believe this kind of approach is important toencourage people, since simple data display does notprovide how people’s activities contribute the energy
saving.
(3) Dynamic Facility Management:
Ubiteq, Inc. and Cisco Systems develop BX-Officethat controls facilities such as lights and air conditioners
based on timetables of schoolrooms as shown in Figure 9.
The basic idea of this system is to manage facilities basedon their usage. Since especially classrooms are usuallyused along a timetable, it would become effective if
facilities are managed based on it. And, since the BX-(Source: GUTP Experiment WG)
Figure 7 Time-line based Power Consumption(Source: GUTP Experiment WG)
Figure 8 CO2 Emission Display(Source: GUTP Mieruka WG)
Figure 9 Dynamic Facility Management

4.

Conclusion

In this paper, as a practical project operation, we givethe overview of the GUT (Green University of Tokyo)
project. We design the protocol architecture of the Green
University of Tokyo system, so as to include thefollowing five essential features of the Internet

architecture. These are (1) autonomous, (2) distributed,(3) disconnected, (4) inter-domain, and (5) global,
operation. Also the design principle of GUTP system is;(1) common database, i.e., database centric, (2)accommodating various types of field-buses and subsystems and (3) common APIs for database system andfield-buses from applications. So as to accommodate
various types of field-buses and sub-systems, we adopt (a)the XML routing among these heterogeneous sub-systems
as a common communication protocol, (b) pub-subsystem (as a DTN capability) and (c) IP technology in the
backbone area. Based on the collaboration among
academia and industry, a lot of and vide variety ofcomponents technologies are introduced in to thecommon platform and start the cooperation andcollaboration.

References
1. Kyoto Protocol. [Online]
http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php.
2. The University of Tokyo. Outline of the Project. TSCP
Sustainable Campus Project. [Online] http://www.tscp.utokyo.ac.jp/en/about.html.
3. Green University of Tokyo Project. [Online]
http://www.gutp.jp.
4. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and
Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). BACnet.
[Online] http://www.bacnet.org/.
5. oBIX Open Building Information Xchange. [Online]
http://www.obix.org/obix.htm