Smart Grids (intelligent electricity networks) in residential neighbourhoods could be much more successful with significant improvement to user interaction. Professor Angèle Reinders (Sustainable Energy & Design) of the University of Twente is convinced of that. For her project Co-Evolution of Smart Energy Products and Services (CESEPS), she has been awarded a grant of EUR 1.7 million to conduct research on this issue. Smart product/service combinations, such as charging electronic vehicles (e-bikes and cars) when solar energy is available, have an important role to play in the energy transition. Evaluations conducted at smart grid living labs (residential neighbourhoods) in the Netherlands and Austria have shown that there is too great a focus on technology. The average citizen sometimes lacks a basic understanding of this.
The energy system in the Netherlands is undergoing radical changes. The built environment has an important role to play in the transition towards a totally renewable energy supply. In residential neighbourhoods, a lot of energy is both used and generated and new technologies are linked together. Through this decentralized energy generation, smart grids and ICT can be used to match supply and demand with each other.
A smart grid is actually an energy network with an added metering and control system. This enables consumer demand to be matched with the supply from various energy sources. For example, if one household produces an excess of energy, the energy left over can be siphoned off and used in other nearby homes. There are various living labs in the Netherlands, including in Groningen (Powermatching City), Heerhugowaard and numerous other municipalities. “Some of these pilots are now undergoing evaluation, together with similar projects in Austria”, explains Angèle Reinders.
Nice graph, but what next?
The research within CESEPS is at the cutting edge between energy research and industrial design. Reinders: “We are researching how end-users experience the design of energy systems and products in practice. It has emerged that many energy projects have been set up with a technical focus. For example, people can program the dishwasher or dryer to switch on if there is a supply of renewable energy or if the network electricity price is low. However, the interfaces are often far from user-friendly. People can see a nice graph, but what next? In the living labs, residents have a kind of envelope around their home made up of all kinds of energy technologies that work automatically, but have very little influence on their own energy efficiency. In this project, we are developing a total picture to provide a better fit with actual human behaviour. We are exploring user experiences, energy readings and new energy products and services.”
Reinders is definitely a firm advocate of the transition to smart grids and renewable energy. “Generating energy from solar power and wind is irregular and unpredictable. But legacy networks are ill-prepared for a large supply of renewable energy and incapable of processing the peaks effectively. This is why you need a smart grid to spread the peaks and prevent disruption to the network.”
About CESEPS
CESEPS is one of three projects funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) in the European ERA-Net Plus Smart Grids collaborative programme. A total of around EUR 2.7 million is available in the Netherlands to appoint researchers in transnational projects. A third of this funding goes to CESEPS. The various studies are focusing on the development of smart grids in the context of stakeholders, technology and markets.
Reinders is learning a lot from her collaboration with her counterparts in Austria. “At only 5.5 %, the Netherlands is way behind in Europe in terms of the share of renewable energy. Solar and wind energy are used to a marginal extent only. In Austria, that figure is 75%, partly because there is so much hydroelectric energy, wind and solar power. In some parts of Austria, 100% of the energy generated is renewable. In the Netherlands, our main focus is on increasing sustainability, whereas they are now focusing on managing and stabilizing supply and demand. They are two totally different worlds. Bringing them together is an interesting, but definitely not impossible challenge.”
