Author: Zoltan Nagy, Assistant Professor of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin

My colleagues and I have developed an artificial intelligence system that helps buildings shift their energy use to times when the electric grid is cleaner. I’m an engineer who studies and develops smart buildings. My lab created Merlin, which learns how people use energy in their homes and adjust energy controls like thermostats to meet their needs while at the same time minimizing the impact on the grid. The system can learn on one set of buildings and occupants and be used in buildings with different controls and energy use patterns. We dubbed it Merlin after King Arthur’s legendary magician…