13 research outputs found

    A Heuristic Approach to Control the Ecovat System

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    The Ecovat system is a seasonal thermal storage technology developed to supply the heat demand of a neighbourhood of houses throughout the entire year. It consists of a large subterranean water tank which is divided into a number of virtual segments which can be charged or discharged independently from each other. In this work, we present a fast heuristic approach to model and control the charging (store heat) and discharging (withdraw heat) of the Ecovat system. We compare the results obtained with this approach to results obtained with a previously developed integer linear programming model (ILP) of the Ecovat system, which is too slow to be used in practice. The heuristic is found to reduce the computational time from 12+ hours for the ILP model to one second and is thereby suitable to be used in practice. The price for this reduction is an average decrease in performance of 5.2% and a maximum observed decrease of 12.5%

    Innovation Dynamics of Socio-Technical Alignment in Community Energy Storage:The Cases of DrTen and Ecovat

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    With energy transition gaining momentum, energy storage technologies are increasingly spotlighted as they can effectively handle mismatches in supply and demand. The decreasing cost of distributed energy generation technologies and energy storage technologies as well as increasing demand for local flexibility is opening up new possibilities for the deployment of energy storage technologies in local energy communities. In this context, community energy storage has potential to better integrate energy supply and demand at the local level and can contribute towards accommodating the needs and expectations of citizens and local communities as well as future ecological needs. However, there are techno-economical and socio-institutional challenges of integrating energy storage technologies in the largely centralized present energy system, which demand socio-technical innovation. To gain insight into these challenges, this article studies the technical, demand and political articulations of new innovative local energy storage technologies based on an embedded case study approach. The innovation dynamics of two local energy storage innovations, the seasalt battery of DrTen® and the seasonal thermal storage Ecovat®, are analysed. We adopt a co-shaping perspective for understanding innovation dynamics as a result of the socio-institutional dynamics of alignment of various actors, their articulations and the evolving network interactions. Community energy storage necessitates thus not only technical innovation but, simultaneously, social innovation for its successful adoption. We will assess these dynamics also from the responsible innovation framework that articulates various forms of social, environmental and public values. The socio-technical alignment of various actors, human as well as material, is central in building new socio-technical configurations in which the new storage technology, the community and embedded values are being developed

    New Pathways for Community Energy and Storage

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    New Pathways for Community Energy and Storage

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    New Pathways for Community Energy and Storage

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    New Pathways for Community Energy and Storage

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    New Pathways for Community Energy and Storage

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    Local communities are increasingly taking on active roles and emerging as new actors in energy systems. Community energy and energy storage may enable effective energy system integration and ensure maximum benefits of local generation, leading to more flexible and resilient energy supply systems and playing an important role in achieving renewable energy and climate policy objectives. In this book, we summarize the different topics covered in the international conference on new pathways for community energy and storage in the form of the 14 articles published in this Special Issue on the same topic. It addresses important developments and challenges related to local energy transitions and the role of community energy and energy storage therein
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