As electricity usage in homes increases due to modernization and weather changes, Iowa State University researchers are working to keep the lights on and the power grid working smoothly with a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The project, led by Grumman associate professor of electrical and computer engineering Zhaoyu Wang, will use data analytics and modeling to help improve the health and lifespan of distribution transformers, which lower the voltage amounts from the power distribution grid enough for houses to connect and have power.

Utilizing smart meters, which Wang said measure voltage and energy consumption every 15 minutes and can be found in many homes, and a large data platform through project partner SparkMeter, the team will create applications and models allowing utility companies to monitor the status of distribution transformers. That will enable them to know when they are in danger of breaking or how long they could have left before they need to be replaced, possibly preventing outages before they occur.

“Certainly we are all excited about this project … not only about the funding, it’s more about the potential impact,” Wang said.

Other partners on the project include the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Linn County Rural Electric Cooperative, Cedar Falls Utilities and AES. Wang said they will also work with a community in Indiana.

According to a news release from the Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity, ISU’s project is one of eight selected to receive grants totaling $7.5 million. These initiatives aim to modernize the U.S. power grid using data analytics, sensors and other technologies.

“These projects are essential for making our electric grid stronger and more secure,” said Office of Electricity Assistant Secretary Gene Rodrigues. “They will help utilities quickly identify and solve problems, ensuring a reliable power supply. We’re laser-focused on rapid and widespread implementation to support America’s growing appetite for clean, affordable renewable energy.”

Traditionally, Wang said utility services don’t generally check on the status of distribution transformers, as there are so many and they used to be relatively cheap to replace. Services would wait until a transformer broke, causing a power outage, before replacing it.

“We call this the broken-and-fixed cycle,” Wang said.

However, the cost of distribution transformers has tripled, Wang said, and utility services that need to make replacements could have to wait years to obtain replacements and refill their inventory.

As homes increase their use of electricity through new appliances, electric-vehicle chargers and increased air conditioning due to hotter summers, Wang said transformers are more likely to be overloaded. They can handle being overloaded for a while before they break entirely, he said, but it does shorten their lifespan.

The data from homes’ smart meters can be used to determine which transformers are being overloaded, allowing utility services to determine the health of their transformers and which of them should be given priority for replacement, perhaps with a transformer that can handle a larger capacity.

This is called the “monitoring-prediction-maintenance” cycle, according to ISU’s project summary, and it’s hoped that it will lead to a more proactive approach to transformer maintenance, lowering the chance of power outages.

Wang said the team still needs to negotiate with the Department of Energy, but hopes to begin research and development in October. Field demonstrations of their work will begin after one year.

In working with Cedar Falls and Linn County on previous projects, Wang said he and the other researchers know the challenges utility services are facing as they prepare for an increasingly electrified future.

“We work very closely with the industry, we know their challenges, we know their problems,” Wang said. “They have seen the sharp increase in the electricity demand from the customer side, mainly because of the EV charging … If every house has increases, what will be the problem to their system and will that overload their distribution transformer?”