Smart storage heaters benefit households and business
The Horizon 2020 RealValue (Realising Value from Electricity Markets with Local Smart Electric Thermal Storage Technology) project demonstrated how small-scale smart electric thermal storage systems (SETS) can meet householders’ space and water heating needs in a low-cost and energy-efficient manner, whilst enabling the electricity industry to exploit its energy storage capacity. Traditional night storage heaters contain an insulated thermal core that stores heat during the night to take advantage of abundant low-cost energy. The heat is then released during the day when demand and prices are higher. SETS are more flexible than traditional storage heaters as the core can be charged at any time, to suit electricity grid conditions. Like traditional night storage heaters, SETS is designed to reduce the large differences in peak and off-peak electricity demand. “SETS is a direct replacement for existing electric thermal storage heaters and water tanks with a combined load of 55 GW across the EU. It can also replace direct electric resistance heaters with further connected load of 93 GW,” says Project Director Rowena McCappin. RealValue, using SETS connected to a cloud aggregation platform, issues optimised charging schedules to appliances, allowing them to take on charge during the night or day, based on grid constraints and market price signals. “We see SETS as a means for an ordinary person to participate in the evolving energy system. Not everybody is going to have the money to invest in a Tesla battery, an electric car, a wind turbine, or PV for their roof. But lots of people have storage heaters heating their buildings, consuming a large amount of energy. We see SETS as being a means for these people to be active and important cogs in the future EU energy system,” explains McCappin. Europe-wide participation The project involved participants of different ages and backgrounds from Ireland, Germany and Latvia. They included social housing tenants, private home owners, and those responsible for business premises and other public buildings. This diversity reflects the different environments where the technology can be used. “SETS space and water heating systems were deployed in 750 properties across Germany, Ireland and Latvia,” McCappin comments. Researchers have also equipped properties with smart plugs, sensors and smart meters. In Germany, project partners developed a ‘retrofit’ solution to enable advanced control of traditional storage heaters. The heating appliances are linked to an aggregation platform via the internet, which at cloud level provides the ability to interpret the flexibility of the devices. Better understanding of grids and prices This information is transmitted to a cloud optimisation engine that is integrated with the electricity grids in each country, allowing an understanding of the current and future wholesale prices, and other network constraints. “An optimised charging schedule for each appliance is calculated and passed through the gateway to be activated, providing load balancing services,” claims McCappin. Through the backend, data can be extracted from individual appliances, and software and security updates can be pushed to the gateways. In addition, participants may access an app (available on phone, tablet and desktop), which provides remote control of the devices as well as insight into the energy usage. RealValue will provide multiple benefits. “These include financial savings to the whole electricity supply chain, from generation and distribution, through to wholesale markets and suppliers and ultimately to end users like home owners and property managers,” McCappin concludes.
Keywords
RealValue, storage heater, smart electric thermal storage systems (SETS), energy, electricity grid, cloud aggregation platform
