AI applications produce cleaner cities, smarter homes, more efficient transit

AFRICA: ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) is quietly transforming how cities generate, store and distribute energy, acting as the invisible conductor that orchestrates cleaner, smarter and more resilient cities.

By integrating renewables — from solar panels and wind turbines to geothermal grids, hydrogen plants, electric vehicles and batteries — AI can enable cities to manage diverse energy sources as a single, intelligent system.

One striking example is the Oya Hybrid Power Station in South Africa. Here, AI-driven controls seamlessly co-ordinate solar, wind and battery storage to deliver reliable power to up to 320,000 households.

Using AI makes this kind of integration not only possible, but dramatically more efficient. Recent research shows AI can also optimize how batteries, solar and the grid interact in buildings.

A 2023 study found that deep learning and real-time data helped a boarding school in Turin, Italy increase low-cost energy purchases and cut its electricity bill by more than half.

Cleaner, smarter energy grids AI models are increasingly able to predict weather with greater precision.

These predictions allow electric grid operators to plan hours ahead, storing excess energy in batteries or adjusting supply to meet demand before a storm or heatwave hits.

Using AI to respond strategically to weather is a game-changer. In Cambridge, England, a system called Aardvark uses satellite and sensor data to generate rapid, accurate forecasts of sun and wind patterns.

Unlike traditional supercomputer-driven weather models, Aardvark’s AI can deliver precise local forecasts in minutes on an ordinary computer.

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This makes advanced weather prediction more accessible and affordable for cities, utilities and even smaller organizations — potentially transforming how communities everywhere plan for and respond to changing weather.

AI for smarter district heating and cooling In Munich, Germany, AI is improving geothermal district heating by using underground sensors to monitor temperature and moisture levels in the ground.

The collected data feeds into a digital simulation model that helps optimize network operations.

In more advanced versions, during winter cold snaps, such systems can suggest lowering flow to underused spaces like half-empty offices and boosting heat where demand is higher, such as in crowded apartments.

This intelligent, self-optimizing approach extends the life of equipment and delivers more warmth with the same energy input.

This is a breakthrough with enormous potential for cities in cold climates with established geothermal networks, such as Winnipeg in Canada and Iceland’s Reykjavik.

Although these cities have not yet adopted AIdriven monitoring systems, they could benefit from AI’s real-time improvements in efficiency, comfort and energy savings during harsh winters — a principle that holds true wherever geothermal district heating and cooling exists.

Smart buildings Inside the home, AI-managed smart climate systems can factor in how many people are in each room, which appliances are in use, how much natural sunlight each space receives and how much electricity or heat a home’s solar panels generate throughout the day.

Based on this, AI determines how to heat or cool rooms efficiently, and can transfer energy from one space to another, balancing comfort with minimal energy use. Coastal cities and those in wind-heavy regions are using AI in other creative ways.

In Orkney, Scotland, excess wind and tidal energy are converted into green hydrogen.

Instead of letting that surplus power go to waste, an AI system called HyAI controls when to generate hydrogen based on wind forecasts, electricity prices and how full the hydrogen storage tanks are.

When winds are strong at night and electricity is cheap, the AI can divert surplus power to produce hydrogen and store it for later use. On calmer days, that stored hydrogen can power fuel cells or buses.

Energy storage AI is transforming energy storage into a smart, revenuegenerating force. In Finland, a startup called Capalo AI has developed Zeus VPP, an AIpowered virtual power plant that aggregates distributed batteries from homes, businesses and other sites.

Zeus VPP uses advanced forecasting and AI algorithms to decide when batteries should charge or discharge, factoring in energy prices, local consumption and weather forecasts.

This enables battery owners to earn revenue by participating in electricity markets, while also supporting grid stability and making better use of renewable energy.

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Utility companies are also using AI to monitor everything from high-voltage transmission lines to neighbourhood transformers, dramatically increasing reliability.

AI-powered dynamic line rating adjusts how much electricity a line can carry in real time, boosting capacity by 15 to 30 per cent when conditions allow.

This helps utilities maximize the use of existing infrastructure instead of relying on costly upgrades.

At the local level, AI analyzes smart metre data to predict which transformers are overheating due to rising EV and heat pump use.

By forecasting these stress points, utilities can proactively upgrade equipment before failures happen — a shift from reactive to predictive maintenance that makes the grid stronger and cities more resilient.

AI-powered public transit and mobility Transportation innovation is becoming part of the energy solution, with AI at the centre of this transformation.

In New York City, energy company Con Edison has installed major battery storage systems to help manage peak electricity demand and reduce reliance on polluting peaker plants, which supply energy only during high-demand periods.

More broadly, Con Edison is deploying advanced AI powered analytics software