Rob’s mission is to empower energy freedom for all, through the implementation of new technologies to democratise and simplify distributed energy resources. Here Rob talks about the key role for battery storage in delivering an efficient energy ecosystem.
For too long, home energy efficiency has been viewed as a series of device siloes.
Homebuilders have checked off cursory lists including measures like insulation and double glazing. Renewables installers have primarily focused on solar PV – hopefully with supporting battery storage in tow.
Today, smart energy devices are causing a clean energy convergence. No longer is solar a silo, or solar paired with storage seen as an end-point.
Instead, the modern home comprises an ecosystem of smart technologies that are starting to work together to integrate, automate and optimise the customer’s energy usage. In the future, this convergence will only deepen as bill payer demands and regulations move towards a holistic view of home energy efficiency.
The modern smart device mix
Battery storage system
The ability to store energy sits at the heart of any energy-efficient ecosystem. Customers can store cheap, clean energy in their battery – then discharge it at the right time to run devices in their home ecosystem. Doing this locally in a distributed manner instead of (or as well as) at grid scale offers big benefits in infrastructure planning and costs.
Air source heat pumps (ASHPs)
While ASHPs don’t directly emit carbon, they must run on clean electricity in order to avoid a hidden environmental cost. Integrating an ASHP into a smart ecosystem with a home battery, solar, etc. means customers can heat their home using the cleanest (and cheapest) possible power.
EV chargers
Similarly to ASHPs, EVs must be charged sustainably to be truly carbon-free in use. EV chargers with smart functions enable customers to charge from clean energy stored in a battery, directly from solar, or from the grid when clean energy is in abundance.
Smart plugs and smart meters
Monitoring energy consumption is crucial to creating a truly energy efficient ecosystem. To this end, customers can monitor overall energy consumption via a smart meter, as well as consumption of individual devices via smart plugs. This knowledge can drive more efficient use of energy within the home.
Energy management apps
Smart energy apps offer customers the convenience of controlling their energy ecosystem from one interface. Open integrations increasingly allow the billpayer a single, centralised view of their energy use and smart energy devices.
In short, the days of insulation and solar panels acting as the be-all and end-all for an energy efficient home are long since passed. Modern standards of energy efficiency depend on a holistic mix of technologies interacting together – of which smart storage batteries are the enabling centrepiece that enable the home to reliably access clean and cheap energy.
Interoperability: the key to holistic energy efficiency
It’s clear that modern energy ecosystems require the integration of multiple sets of hardware and software to perform to their full potential. The problem is that not all hardware and software are mutually compatible.
For example, customers might not be able to integrate certain home battery brands with certain EV charger brands. Smart control from Brand A might not talk to or interact with device from Brand B.
This is a problem of interoperability – the capability of products, devices and applications to connect, communicate and provide services in a coordinated manner. Manufacturers are often disincentivised to make smart home products interoperable due to:
- Cybersecurity challenges
- Existing market and lock-in advantages
- Added development costs
However, interoperability and open standards are essential for enabling the wider benefits of smart energy. For instance, if a customer wanted to upgrade or retrofit part of their home energy ecosystem, interoperability gives them access to a wider choice of potentially more cost-effective devices.
In the long-term, this helps customers avoid being ‘locked-in’ by a particular brand or provider. If we want more homes across the UK to adopt clean energy technologies, we need to make that adoption simple, understandable, accessible, and low risk.
How smart home energy ecosystems can support the grid
The adoption of energy efficient ecosystems in the modern home should also be viewed through a broader lens: power supply. Our electricity grid is increasingly reliant on time-variable and intermittent sources of energy. Grid operators are pushing to become smarter in how they balance electricity supply and demand.
Grid flexibility involves operators calling upon distributed energy resources (DERs) to support the grid, as and when required. For instance, operators can incentivise homes with battery storage to export power to the grid when overall demand is high or charge at reduced or negative cost when supply exceeds demand (for example, a very windy evening).
With a network of thousands of home batteries able to buffer local and national grids under duress, our power network is not only less reliant on burning fossil fuels, but also made more stable.
Grid flexibility schemes have the additional advantage of monetisation for the billpayer. Generating a revenue from billpayer’s battery assets will only drive further adoption of clean energy tech, whilst also potentially reducing its financial initial entry barriers.
Of course, given the numbers involved, all of this grid participation must be done in a secure manner. Standards and protections will need to be enacted to ensure that companies are providing these products and services in a robust, transparent, and secure manner. Customer devices and data must be secure and pose no risk to the wider grid.
Working towards an integrated network of energy efficient ecosystems
Home energy efficiency is no longer a series of device siloes or isolated policy measures. Instead, creating an energy efficient home involves a holistic approach, including integrated sets of hardware and software.
Home battery storage – affording energy customers the ability to store cheap, clean energy – is at the heart of powering energy efficient homes. And on a macro level, battery-powered homes can help provide grid flexibility and resilience amidst time-variable sources of energy.
Challenges remain when it comes to building energy efficient ecosystems, including interoperability and cybersecurity. Through cross-industry collaboration, these challenges can be overcome and a holistic approach to home energy efficiency can become the new normal.
Image credit: GivEnergy
