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Trials to begin on using domestic appliances to manage electricity demand

Written by: Janet Wood | 02 December 2008

Fridges will be used to help manage electricity supply and demand, in a trial to be carried out by electricity supplier RWE npower and RLtec, a company that sells electricity grid balancing services.
Fridges are just one of the appliances whose electricity demand could be shifted according to the needs of the electricity system. In so-called "dynamic demand" management, thousands of appliances would have their demand cut if the system needed extra power. This "virtual power station" would reduce the need for real power generation to be operating in "neutral" in readiness for demand surges, so it will save money and reduce carbon emissions.
The two companies will initially install 300 fridges which can be controlled remotely. Eventually the trial, which is being funded as part of Npower's Carbon Emissions Reductions Target commitment, will be expanded to 3,000 fridges and freezers of different types.
The project is expected to begin in 2009 and will last for 18 months. Bob Jackson, carbon savings manager at Npower, said: "Dynamic demand has the potential to significantly reduce the amount of carbon emissions - so these trials with domestic customers are very important and we hope they will show the impact that this technology could have in the UK and around the world."
The trial comes as a report, commissioned by the Department for Business, confirmed that dynamic demand would be valuable in managing the system and , especially as the proportion of wind power increased. The report said more work had to be done to obtain more detail about practical issues, such as the power that would be required to meet demand as the power used by dynamic appliances was raised after a demand response. Even the effect of the pattern of use of fridges, such as when doors were opened, had to be understood.
The potential of other appliances also had still to be investigated.

Tags: dynamic demand, frequency response

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