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demands are higher in the evening due to lighting demands and higher mid- afternoon
in summer due to air conditioning demands; these “peak” demand periods determine the generation capacity needed in the electrical power system and require that
the generators can “ramp” power production rapidly up and down to match demand
peaks. Urban water demands peak morning and evening corresponding to washing
and cooking times. Cities store water; they produce it at night when electrical power
is less expensive, and demand is lower and consuming it during the day. Cities need
to handle fires and power outages without losing potable water supply and use elevated storage to maintain system pressure during these events. Power outages usually last hours and at most days, because of storms and other random damage to the
system. Solar and wind renewable energy production has a strong diurnal pattern,
with solar peaking late morning and wind peaking at times determined by geography. Liquid fuels are burned mostly during the day by vehicles in city traffic, and
this is when most air pollution is generated in cities as a result. “Demand management” in the water and electrical utility space focuses primarily on reducing peak
rates of demand for electricity and water in these systems. When water and energy
demands are “on peak” at high-usage times of day, utility prices tend to be higher.
People eat and wash at specific times of day, and this drives diurnal water and energy
demands in cities, in addition to creating strong “food peaking periods” at three
times during the day (breakfast, lunch, supper).
Process Scale and Resolution
There are various levels of detail with which we can describe processes and encode
our knowledge as data—that is, multiple levels of Process Resolution. Process
Classification is an exercise in Ontology. There is a need to establish Process
Classifications and Ontologies for FEW systems so that processes and products can
be benchmarked and described in relation to the greater system’s geometry.
For example, the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Census describes the
nation’s water using processes at a coarse resolution, using broad categories such as
“agriculture,” “public supply,” “industrial,” and “thermoelectric” to describe wide
swathes of processes. At the other extreme, Process Classification Frameworks
(PCFs) provide highly precise and detailed descriptions of industry-specific processes, from the perspective of industrial engineering and quality control applications (e.g., APQC 2017). PCFs do not exist yet for many FEW-related topics.
Two of the most common economic classifications for FEW systems in the USA
are the Standard Classification of Transported Goods (SCTG) Codes used by the
U.S. Department of Transportation to code freight flows, and the North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS) used for industry type and product coding;
NAICS can be ontologically mapped (cross-walked) to the Standard Industrial
Classification (SIC) which is an older and US-focused ontology. The FEWSION
project has undertaken to develop a new ontology for the food, energy, and water
system. The FEWSION codes build on the SCTG and NAICS framework while
reorganizing some categories of particular interest to FEW researchers, and also
adding categories like electrical energy, potable water, and wastewater.
B. L. Ruddell
demands are higher in the evening due to lighting demands and higher mid- afternoon
in summer due to air conditioning demands; these “peak” demand periods determine the generation capacity needed in the electrical power system and require that
the generators can “ramp” power production rapidly up and down to match demand
peaks. Urban water demands peak morning and evening corresponding to washing
and cooking times. Cities store water; they produce it at night when electrical power
is less expensive, and demand is lower and consuming it during the day. Cities need
to handle fires and power outages without losing potable water supply and use elevated storage to maintain system pressure during these events. Power outages usually last hours and at most days, because of storms and other random damage to the
system. Solar and wind renewable energy production has a strong diurnal pattern,
with solar peaking late morning and wind peaking at times determined by geography. Liquid fuels are burned mostly during the day by vehicles in city traffic, and
this is when most air pollution is generated in cities as a result. “Demand management” in the water and electrical utility space focuses primarily on reducing peak
rates of demand for electricity and water in these systems. When water and energy
demands are “on peak” at high-usage times of day, utility prices tend to be higher.
People eat and wash at specific times of day, and this drives diurnal water and energy
demands in cities, in addition to creating strong “food peaking periods” at three
times during the day (breakfast, lunch, supper).
Process Scale and Resolution
There are various levels of detail with which we can describe processes and encode
our knowledge as data—that is, multiple levels of Process Resolution. Process
Classification is an exercise in Ontology. There is a need to establish Process
Classifications and Ontologies for FEW systems so that processes and products can
be benchmarked and described in relation to the greater system’s geometry.
For example, the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Census describes the
nation’s water using processes at a coarse resolution, using broad categories such as
“agriculture,” “public supply,” “industrial,” and “thermoelectric” to describe wide
swathes of processes. At the other extreme, Process Classification Frameworks
(PCFs) provide highly precise and detailed descriptions of industry-specific processes, from the perspective of industrial engineering and quality control applications (e.g., APQC 2017). PCFs do not exist yet for many FEW-related topics.
Two of the most common economic classifications for FEW systems in the USA
are the Standard Classification of Transported Goods (SCTG) Codes used by the
U.S. Department of Transportation to code freight flows, and the North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS) used for industry type and product coding;
NAICS can be ontologically mapped (cross-walked) to the Standard Industrial
Classification (SIC) which is an older and US-focused ontology. The FEWSION
project has undertaken to develop a new ontology for the food, energy, and water
system. The FEWSION codes build on the SCTG and NAICS framework while
reorganizing some categories of particular interest to FEW researchers, and also
adding categories like electrical energy, potable water, and wastewater.
B. L. Ruddell