New England energy innovator VCharge is taking the bite out of ETS heating cost in the face of PPL’s phase-out of the discounted RTS heating rate (tariff). VCharge’s SmartBricks(TM) product for Electric Thermal Storage (ETS) heating customers in PPL distribution territory is an integrated controls and electric generation supplier (EGS) system that yields lower heating costs for ETS customers while providing grid supply/demand balancing services that save all electric customers money, and could help drive new investments in wind power capacity.
Systems are installed at $50 per ETS unit, and save customers 25% on heating electric charges for an easy one-year return on investment. The control system operates on a second-by-second basis by connecting to homeowner’s DSL or other always-on internet service and communicating with the VCharge service. VCharge, in turn, monitors and predicts energy prices over a 48-hour horizon, purchasing and storing energy in the ETS heaters when electricity is cheap, and drawing from thermal storage when expensive. Further, the VCharge system responds to second-by-second requests from grid operators at PPL and PJM, using digital switching of the ETS to balance energy supply and demand on the grid, rather than actual power plant dynamos who’s characteristic of peak efficiency at specific fixed power outputs makes them expensive sources for small and or fast-changing adjustments to the grid supply/demand balance.
And SmartBricks makes wind power more cost-effective. One of the greatest benefits of VCharge’s SmartBricks(TM) system is that it groups many customers together into a virtual power plant that provides capacity for time-shifting demand on the grid. Sustainable energy sources such as wind often feed into a discounted market, because they cannot guarantee power will be delivered on demand at any specific time — only a long-term averaged power supply. Systems like SmartBricks(TM) provide demand for off-peak and unpredictable power supplies like wind (subject to gusts and most productive overall, late at night), making wind power more valuable and encouraging investment in renewable wind generation resources. Being a resource to absorb peak power supply, such as in brief gusty periods, SmartBricks(TM) also increases the total amount of wind capacity that can safely connect to the grid.
See also:
- Demand Response Compensation in Wholesale Energy Markets
- Choosing alternative electric generation suppliers (EGS)
Licensed Electrician Robert Monk VCharge retrofit turns ETS heating from legacy to innovation Copyright Robert Monk, 2012
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