Load profiling of commercial and residential building using clustering technique

Data mining is a promising tool used in processing energy data collected from energy consumers. The knowledge derived from energy data is very pertinent in the formulation of various demand-side management programs. This paper uses clustering techniques to segment the energy consumption patterns of residential and commercial buildings; situated at different geographical locations. The two (2) commonly used clustering techniques: K-Means and Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering, were employed. The result indicates that the choice of clustering technique for load profiling is highly subjective to the nature of the dataset. Hence, using Davies-Bouldin Index (DB) Index and Silhouette Index (SI) as clustering indicators to select an optimum number of clusters and the best clustering technique. Hierarchical clustering was identified as the most appropriate clustering for the two buildings.