HEATING & HOT WATER
of HVAC as a grid resource?
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Rolf Bienert, managing & technical director of the OpenADR Alliance, a global industry ecosystem of over 200 members, explores systems to become grid energy sources
uildings are a key contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, representing more than a third of energy related emissions in the EU, according to the European Environment Agency. These
are the result of the use of fossil fuels in buildings, such as for heating, as well as the electricity consumed by devices like water heaters, air conditioning and ventilation (HVAC).
While initiatives like the EU’s Energy
Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and the UK’s first Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard, are pushing for a reduction in the amount of carbon from buildings, are there other ways to minimise emissions and maximise energy efficiency?
Knowing that heating, cooling and hot water are responsible for anywhere between 50% (in commercial buildings) and 78% (in domestic) of energy consumption, the transition to more energy efficient systems like heat pumps could be key to success. The question, however, is whether energy hungry devices like heaters and air conditioning systems, could in themselves become affordable, sustainable energy resources?
Combined energy resources
As a global industry alliance with many members involved the HVAC industry, including water heaters and heat pump systems, this is something that’s being discussed more frequently.
Similarly, among our growing community of members that are part of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, we look at the potential for EVs to become grid resources. In a vehicle to grid scenario, for example, an EV acts as a mobile energy unit that can be charged ready for use. But it can also be discharged back into the home or the grid and offering the potential to become part of bigger community resource with hundreds of EVs (and other distributed energy resources) working together to form what’s known as a virtual power station or VPP.
Electric vehicles have plenty of energy potential, and, when fully charged could support a home for several days. So, could the same work with HVAC?
Electric water heaters, for example, offer a way to store lots of energy as hot water, so imagine the potential. A piece written in Australia last year suggested that a 300-litre tank can store as much energy as a second- generation Tesla Powerwall. This offers a cheaper way of storing large amounts of energy and providing the energy demand flexibility the grid needs.
Pool pumps are another interesting example. Filtering, cleaning and circulating water means they use lots of electricity. The US Department of Energy reports that pool pumps could be the second largest energy user in the home after air conditioning or a heat pump, costing as much as $270/year in utility bills. By combining the various HVAC systems in both homes and buildings, we have the potential to save energy and change the way we store and consume it. New advances in HVAC technology is also seeing greater integration with renewable energy sources like solar panels and wind power, further helping us to reduce our carbon footprint.
With the potential of EVs already part of several vehicle to grid pilot schemes being rolled out by car manufacturers and utilities, why are we not seeing the same for HVAC to be harnessed as an energy resource and not being tested more widely?
For this to happen, the right industry standards need to be in place so that electric utilities can communicate with customers and building operators and to enable price and energy messaging to common appliance types. From our perspective, we can see changes happening as the industry is moving towards a greater focus on building management systems and interfaces that create value from appliances through improved communications. We are already seeing improved communications capabilities
Electric water heaters, for
lots of energy as hot water,
included in appliances like water heaters, heat pumps and other HVAC appliances to monitor and learn more about energy usage. We expect these systems to migrate toward EcoPort, the brand name for CTA-2045 certified products, that future-proofs and allows water heaters and other appliances to have market flexibility. Utilities can design and deliver demand response (DR) and distributed energy programs that treat water heaters and other systems as a potential grid resource with benefits to utilities themselves and to customers.
The utility drives demand flexibility, with peak load management or time of use programmes, while customers have greater choice in their energy use together all the benefits of energy and costs savings. We are encouraged to see momentum building in the industry as more product manufacturers and utility companies demand energy smart appliances and standards- based communications that drive energy flexibility. We look forward to the next stage in development.
8 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER NOVEMBER 2024
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