Controlling heat pumps for demand response through manufacturers’ existing cloud and API solutions enables rapid deployment. The article emphasizes that utilizing the manufacturers’ hardware already in place significantly lowers investment costs compared to solutions requiring new hardware. While control functionalities exist for users via apps, additional features enabling demand response to the power system are still under development.
Existing communication standards for aggregating, cloud services, and individual heat pumps are crucial. The article identifies OpenADR and IEEE 2030.5 as US-based standards with potential, while EEBus and EFI/S2 are considered promising European alternatives. The evaluation emphasizes the importance of adopting standards to ensure effective communication between stakeholders.
The article explores potential markets for demand response from aggregated heat pumps, including bilateral agreements with grid owners, participation in ancillary services, and involvement in local flexibility markets. It distinguishes between explicit flexibility provided to the power grid and implicit flexibility driven by variations in electricity prices or cost-cutting measures.
Barriers to heat pumps participating in balancing markets include the lack of standards for demand response verification, minimum bid sizes, and the need for a single balance responsible party for aggregated resources. The article highlights existing challenges such as volume limits, diverse balance responsible parties, and real-time measurement requirements.
Technical experts from major Swedish heat pump manufacturers discuss obstacles and possibilities. Issues include the absence of electricity meters, measurement uncertainties, and varying activation times for different flexibility markets. While improvements can be made, technical limitations may impact the feasibility of meeting specific service requirements.
As heat pumps must be controlled over the Internet for effective flexibility, cybersecurity becomes a critical concern. The long lifespan of heat pump systems amplifies this challenge, necessitating ongoing software and hardware updates to mitigate potential cyber threats. A cybersecurity attack on heat pumps is recognized as a significant threat to the national power system.
Markus Lindahl, Tommy Walfridson, Claes Sandels, Marco Tiloca, Rikard Höglund, Niclas Ericson, Sweden
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