Description
The use and development of Smart Grid solutions is increasing rapidly, such as distributed generation integration solutions, active market price monitoring and planning, energy storage and data management technologies, smart home solutions. Today, technologies for managing energy consumption and production have a potential for efficiency improvements, whereas the greatest potential for small energy retailers lies in developing technologies that support the planning of electricity consumption based on hourly price movements and related production capacities. The objective of this project is to develop an information and management system for effective electricity consumption and production. As an outcome, the Demand Response solution is developed, that constitutes a smart grid solution positioned between an energy retailer and an electricity consumer. Solution enables to save energy costs through interactive energy market communication solution. By the end of the project, this technology is ready for use and further commercialization in target markets.
Summary of project results
Smart-grid technologies are developing and more and more households have smart-home solutions or building management systems which help to regulate illumination, ventilation and heating. At the same time consumers usually don’t know their electricity consumption structure (if there is no understanding about consumption there can’t be any managing of consumption) and how much they can lower their consumption and/or electricity costs. There was also a need to support the planning of electricity consumption by supplier in the new situation. The targets of the project were following: a) Increasing awareness of electricity consumers about their consumption habits and opportunities to actively manage consumption; b) Increasing awareness of consumers about solutions to lower peak load consumption; c) Helping consumers to make consumption decisions driven by electricity prices; d) Developing dynamic technologies for estimation and management of energy balance; e) Developing a service for residential segment without an overly expensive information system that could, at the same time, deliver the smart grid benefits. As a result of the project an information system for consumers was delivered to monitor their electricity consumption, hourly market prices and analyze their electricity consumption habits to help lower the electricity consumption and/or costs for electricity. Also, a system was delivered for an electricity supplier for collecting and managing historical electricity consumption data and making an hourly electricity consumption forecast for balance management and invoicing.
Summary of bilateral results
As a result of the project, a project partner Brightspark found new partners in Norway and purchased 8% of the Norwegian IT company Correlate AS. The first contact between the companies was made during a study tour organized within the GII programme. A Norwegian project partner Asplan Viak is organizing a consortium to set up cloud-based service for Scandinavian market.