Integrid - Bridging the Gap

55 Overall insights from the smart grid demonstration The technology such as the sensors, relevant parameters, frequency of data and reliable communication solutions are in place. The project has identified some interesting parameters that can support asset health and life time expectancy and permissible load. Threshold values for temperature, transformer and ambient environment have also been established. Ambient temperature is important when deciding if ventilation is functional for cooling of components and aging. Asset health awareness from a functional and operational perspective has been evaluated by maintenance planners. Predictive maintenance will be of more importance as new substations are to be equippedwith smart grid technology and RTU that can supply status description of the substation and its use. More work is needed to include more assets than just transformers. Fault location technology together with remote disconnection technology is very favourable in areas with mixed networks, cables and overhead lines as it reduces outage time for customers and repair costs. As it is particularly important to reduce outage time for customers, at first the recommendation will be to install the technology in substation areas that experience outages and which serve large numbers of customers. Overall insights from the user side demonstration Field tests show that HEMS coupled with energy feedback and dynamic pricing may provide an average reduction in overall electricity use of approximately 10% as well as an average reduction in peak loads of approximately 5%. However, substantial variations in energy use have been observed between households of different types. Single households (compared to family households) and rental apartments (compared to tenant-owned apartments) showed the highest potential to change energy use behaviour. In terms of flexibility, households tended to have a higher interest in reducing their overall consumption rather than shifting load from peak hours to off-peak hours. In order to secure long-term engagement among customers, several aspects about HEMS were identified, including: 1) feedback needs to be clear, relevant, interpretable and relatable, i.e. presented in a variety of metrics, formats, and aggregation levels, in order to close the gap between everyday practices and energy consumption and/or environmental impact, 2) smart home features should be easy to understand, provide self-learning, and contribute to increased comfort to serve as valuable support for energy saving efforts, and 3) visual design of in-home displays needs to be appealing and intuitive for consumer. Furthermore, a collective behavioural demand response signal such as “Pause Hour” seems to be a promising feature that could engage users and change consumption behaviour to provide demand flexibility. Based on the field tests at Live-In Labs, some behavioural change was observed among users; for instance, not cooking or switching off appliances during Pause Hours, showing the viability of the method.