Energy flexibility of a smart home (1/4)

The energy sector is changing, and decentralisation is the current trend. Shifting electricity generation away from large power plants towards smaller sources, such as solar power plants, wind farms, biogas plants, combined heat and power plants and others, is increasing the demands placed on the operation of distribution and transmission grids. Grid operability and reliability are obvious requirements. Various mechanisms are used to ensure the stable operation of both transmission and distribution grids. These include, for example, frequency and non-frequency balancing services. In this series, we take a closer look at the flexibility options offered by the so-called smart home.

Energy flexibility generally represents potential that can ultimately make a significant contribution to stabilising energy systems. Until recently, balancing services were provided mainly by large power plant units. As the number of smaller decentralised energy sources grows, particularly solar power plants, often combined with batteries for storing the energy generated, this potential is naturally emerging here too. Through flexibility aggregation, small flexible resources are grouped into larger units that enable flexibility to be used effectively to stabilise energy systems. In addition to battery storage systems and electric vehicles, which are already being considered for this purpose, a smart home could also serve as a unit for flexibility aggregation. This article focuses specifically on the flexibility options available at smart home level.