Powervault: Smart HOmeControl for ENergy System Integration
This project created a smart energy control platform to optimise and manage a property’s energy assets, reducing customer costs and carbon emissions through low-rate tariffs and providing grid flexibility.
About the project
Through the Smart HOmeControl for ENergy System Integration (SHOCENSI) project, Powervault has developed smart control systems which can optimise a home’s domestic energy storage and solar power facility, alongside electric vehicle charging and heat pumps. The system also provides a route to help consumers benefit from smart tariffs and demand side reduction, ultimately reducing costs for consumers and mitigating infrastructure upgrade costs.
Project aims and approach
Powervault manufactures, sells and manages battery energy storage systems in households and small businesses. The company has previously developed a platform for controlling its domestic batteries, called smartSTOR.
This project studied the feasibility of integrating new digital technologies into Powervault’s smartSTOR system to create an intelligent domestic platform which can control the loads of multiple energy sources and devices and optimise them against local and national price signals. It would then select the best actions to take to maximise net benefit for the user and the system.
This system allows households to optimise energy management in accordance with the rest of the smart home ecosystem, reducing bills by storing free solar energy or cheap off-peak electricity from the grid. It also facilitates extra revenue streams for households through demand-side response, frequency response and peer-to-peer trading.
The core innovative approach is the incorporation of whole-household energy control/management and price signals from the whole market into a single point of control.
Partners
Powervault
Dates
May 2020 to March 2022
Achievements and barriers
Through this project, Powervault successfully developed a smart control system to optimise a home’s energy use across many devices and assets, and also provide flexibility services to the grid.
As a result of the project, the storage systems used by a number of existing customers were enhanced using elements of the new functionality, applying the innovation immediately in the real world.
During the project the company carried out wide-ranging discussions and trials with energy suppliers and other potential partners and researched its business case for the product. After the project the company planned further development, testing and integration with third party products to enable wider commercial rollout.