The final report has been completed. The project closes at the end of the month.
Objective(s)
Gain insights into the means of balancing the interests of the consumer, supplier, and network operators when seeking to derive value from the demand flexibility.
The Project Objectives are:
1. Use the ability of managing multiple energy assets (EVs, hybrid heating systems and solar PV) to switch between gas and electric load to provide fuel arbitrage and highly flexible demand response services.
2. Demonstrate the potential consumer, network, carbon and energy system benefits of large-scale deployment of in-home multi-energy assets with an aggregated demand response control system.
Problem(s)
Following the publication of the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) report promoting hybrid heating systems as a “low regret” option, DNOs should be considering the network implications of CCC’s call for 10 million hybrid heating system installations across GB by 2035. Many of these installations will be in homes that have also adopted electric vehicles. Understanding the interplay between these two primary drivers of electrification is essential to plan future network developments. The third factor that the project will explore is the impact of domestic solar PV and storage installations on these. During the same timescale as hybrids and EVs are being adopted, solar PV costs will fall to a level that makes subsidy free installation an economic reality for homes that wish to save on the cost of their grid supplied electricity.
Several innovation trials have highlighted the possibilities for individual LCTs to provide flexibility to the DNO: EV-Electric Nation, HP- Freedom, PV and Storage-Sola Bristol. However, each of these investigations has looked at a single technology type in isolation. As such DNOs do not have sufficient understandings on how such systems may interact and whether the flexibility is complementary, optimal, or counter-acting.
Method(s)
The research objective is to better understand the feasibility of managing and aggregating multiple energy assets (EV, hybrid heating system and solar PV) affordably through the use of advanced algorithms to unlock value from energy markets. Through customer research we will also evaluate consumer trust in new technology that is taking greater levels of EV charging, heating system control, and design appropriate user interfaces and information systems to help drive adoption.
Based on the lessons learned from previous NIA trials (FREEDOM, Electric Nation and SoLa Bristol), MADE will carry out micro-economic and system-level analysis to extrapolate previous trial findings in order to:
Build a microeconomic model for domestic multi-asset, multi-vector flexibility for GB today, this will: Identify the most attractive customer types; Identify the high potential service stacks; Quantify the value (£); Include a particular focus on DSO services.
Understand how the combined operation of residential solar PV generation, heat pump systems and smart EV charging may provide benefits to the consumer;
Assess the whole-energy system benefits (including network infrastructure) and carbon benefits of large-scale deployment of the MADE concept;
Consider conflicts and synergies between local community and national level objectives, in the context of the flexibility enabled by the MADE concept.
Estimate consumer benefits of the MADE concept and inform the design of the market framework that would enable consumer to access the revenues that reflect the benefits delivered.
A 5 home technology trial in South Wales will be used to validate the modelled learning.
The proposed project runs for 19 months and has been broken down into 6 work packages.
Work Package 1: Project Management
PassivSystems will complete the project management for the duration of the project to deliver the system design, development and technical feasibility installation. The PM will use PassivSystems’ project management processes and will oversee the flow of development work through PassivSystems’ agile Kanban processes.
Work Package 2: Problem definition, approach and trial design
The projects deliver the consolidation of existing information across partners, development of the customer, DSO, local network and national network proposition, a documented set of use cases, establishing data protection and data management protocols.
Work Package 3: Modelling: Consumer, Micro-Economic, Local and National GB Network
PassivSystems will produce a high level control strategy, simulate the MADE concept (desktop exercise) and collaborate with Imperial College and Everoze to model the local network, national network and the microeconomics. All partners will apply advanced big-data techniques to analyse and quantify the success of different approaches, considering demographic parameters, consumer flexibility, different loading conditions, different generation periods, time of application of different prices etc. The system-wide benefits of a largescale rollout of the MADE concept, considering both local and national level infrastructure will be assessed.
This will be enabled by advanced modelling approaches developed by Imperial College, that identify system solutions that deliver secure and cost-efficient energy supply while respecting national decarbonisation targets.
Work Package 4: ASHP/EV/PV Control & Aggregation Solution
PassivSystems’ will design and develop its smart control to enable optimisation (by cost or carbon) of the EV charge point, the electric heating asset and the rooftop PV generation. The will include the PassivEnergy platform that aggregates demand across households and enables the demand flexibility to be traded with energy markets including the DSO. PassivSystems will develop its existing aggregation platform to ensure each vehicle has enough charge for the next trip (based on consumer preferences) before calculating how much remaining capacity to sell to grid and/or support domestic heating (via heat pump, hybrid heating system, or hot water tank immersion). The controls will also manage the heat and transport assets and maximise the selfconsumption of rooftop solar PV through a coordinated control strategy.
Work Package 5: Technology Feasibility Trial (maximum of 5 homes)
PassivSystems will deliver a 5-home technology trial; the field trial will test the technology deliverables and gather data on consumer EV charge and energy system outcomes.
Work Package 6: Technology, Customer and Network Analysis - Dissemination
The project partners will deliver an interim and final report on consumer, energy system and business model outcomes. PassivSystems will be responsible for sharing the findings of MADE publically during and after the project is complete.
A detailed understanding of technical feasibility of asset coordination (supported by a report and operational data).
A detailed customer proposition for the MADE concept.
A detailed understanding of the customer benefits of the MADE concept (supported by a report and operational data).
A detailed understanding of the impact of coordinated asset control on the distribution network (supported by a report and operational data).
A detailed understanding of the whole system benefits of coordinated asset control on the distribution network (supported by a report).
Dissemination of key results, findings and learning to policy makers, regulators, network operators and suppliers.
Potential for New Learning
The project will aim to demonstrate:
The ability of domestic EVs, EV charge points, hybrid heating systems, heat pumps, solar PV with smart control systems to provide fuel arbitrage and highly flexible demand response services.
The potential consumer, network, carbon and energy system benefits of large-scale deployment of domestic EVs, EV charge points, hybrid heating systems, and heat pumps with an aggregated demand response control system.
The savings available to a consumer if this flexibility is matched to the most suitable variable rate tariff on the market.
The impact on user experience of allowing the MADE platform control over the operation of their EV, EV charge point and heating (Options; heat comfort/car availability, cost and green).
How EV charging operates under automated control alongside other in-home assets. In particular, the impact on the asset utilisation of solar PV and efficiency (heat output relative to electricity consumption) of hybrid and heat pump heating systems of flexible control.
The macro energy system impact on the energy system of scenarios where a large percentage of customers install new large electrical heat and transport loads; modelling of the impact with and without the MADE platform.
How new large domestic electrical loads can be managed on the LV network by DSOs seeking to minimise network reinforcement costs.
Model the network impact of homes managing flexible electrical demand against fixed and variable rate TOU tariffs (BEIS expects £1bn of benefits from static TOU tariffs).
The means of balancing the interests of the consumer, supplier, and network operators when seeking to derive value from the demand flexibility.
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