HEATING, VENTILATION & AIR CONDITIONING


HARNESSING THE POWER OF HVAC SYSTEMS AS A GRID RESOURCE


Could HVAC play a role in the drive towards a more sustainable future? Rolf Bienert, managing and technical director at the OpenADR Alliance, discusses the potential


A


ccording to U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates, on average


more than half (52%) of a household’s energy consumption is used for heating and air conditioning (AC). Water heating, lighting and refrigeration make up another 25% of total annual home energy use. While dependent on where you live, the type of home you live in and how many people live there, this makes them extremely energy intensive. But what if we turned this on its head and


instead saw these energy hungry devices as affordable, even sustainable, sources of energy?


THE POTENTIAL We have talked previously about the potential for electric vehicles (EVs) to become grid resources. In these so-called vehicle to grid or vehicle to anything (V2X) programs, the EV essentially acts as a mobile energy unit that uses electricity, but also supplies it when needed in the home or potentially as part of wider community resource, with hundreds of EVs working together to form a virtual power station. We know that EVs have a good amount of stored energy and when fully charged could


support a home for several days. But what about HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) systems and other smart appliances? A water heater is full of hot water when heated,


so imagine the potential. With a 300-litre tank, it can store almost as much energy as a second- generation Tesla Powerwall, offering a cheaper way of storing large amounts of energy and providing


suppliers to showcase the future of HVACR (HVAC + refrigeration) technology. The good news is that the industry is moving towards a greater focus on building management systems and interfaces that create value from appliances through improved communications. We are seeing a clear trend of adding


communications capabilities to water heaters,


“If we combine all the systems and appliances responsible for heating,


cooling and ventilating homes and buildings, we have the potential to maximise energy conservation and change the way we store and consume energy”


Rolf Bienert


the demand flexibility that the grid needs. Pool pumps are another example. Filtering,


cleaning and circulating water means they use lots of electricity, with the US Department of Energy reporting that pool pumps can be a home’s second largest energy user after AC or a heat pump. But if we combine all of these systems and appliances responsible for heating, cooling, and ventilating homes and buildings, we have the potential to maximise energy conservation and change the way we store and consume energy. New advances in HVAC systems are also seeing greater integration with renewable energy sources like solar and wind power, further helping us to reduce our carbon footprint. If the energy stored in EVs is already


being used as power sources, why are HVAC and other consumer appliances not being more widely used as an energy resource? For this to happen, these systems need the right communications standards in place so that electric utilities can communicate with customers.


Water heater (image courtesy of Rheem)


www.essmag.co.uk


INDUSTRY TRENDS As an industry body promoting these standards, we are fortunate to see the trends emerging in the industry, particularly the rapid innovation happening in the smart appliances space. For example, we attended the AHR Expo earlier this year, which brings together manufacturers and


both for consumer-facing applications, and to monitor and learn more about their energy usage. This will provide the potential for more energy efficient systems as well as utility interconnection. We expect these systems to migrate toward


EcoPort, a product certified to the CTA-2045 international standard, that allows water heaters and other consumer appliances like HVAC and pool pumps to communicate over the internet. This will enable utilities to design and deliver demand response and distributed energy programs that treat customers’ water heaters as a potential grid resource, with benefits both to utilities and the consumer. This means a utility can drive demand


flexibility, with peak load management or time of use programs, while the customer has more choice in their energy use combined with energy and costs savings. The Alliance participated in regulatory and


legislative efforts that have seen two states, Oregon and Washington, pass laws so that manufacturers cannot sell water heaters in the state unless they have EcoPort installed. The California Energy Commission has launched a regulatory proceeding to develop similar requirements for both water heaters and pool pumps. We’re excited to see momentum in the industry


as more manufacturers get on board. The more systems and appliances that adopt industry- recognised communications standards, the greater the impact on grid services, decarbonisation efforts, and potential for growth.


OpenADR Alliance www.openadr.org/


ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY SOLUTIONS - Spring 2024 39


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