2022 replace: this sensible trial is now over however we have lots extra on the horizon, head to our weblog to seek out out extra.
Powervault’s sensible house batteries cost and discharge intelligently to permit customers to energy their households in probably the most sustainable, cost-effective approach.
So what do you get once you mix this superior tech with AgileOctopus, our one-of-a-kind sensible tariff providing tremendous low cost pricing at any time when there’s tons of inexperienced vitality flowing via the wires?
A blueprint for the longer term sensible vitality system.
We’re teaming up with Powervault to present AgileOctopus clients an unique alternative to receives a commission to assist resolve certainly one of renewable vitality’s largest challenges.
The problem
As we transfer in direction of an vitality system the place extra of our energy is generated ‘intermittently’ (AKA solely when the wind blows, or the solar shines), we’ve got to seek out new methods to benefit from these instances when vitality manufacturing is highest. We have to change our vitality consumption habits to be extra in keeping with when renewable technology is excessive, and discover higher methods of storing additional vitality to make use of later when technology is low.
Our grid isn’t arrange to do that – actually, it was constructed to assist a system powered by soiled fossil gasoline sources that may be fired up and burnt on a regular basis. We’d like a versatile, sensible vitality grid able to maximising the potential of fresh vitality whereas retaining the grid balanced.
The trial
Clients with sensible house batteries like Powervault have the distinctive capacity to cost up from {the electrical} grid at any time when renewables are considerable and the vitality in our cables is at its very greenest. They will then take their properties ‘off-grid’ – operating on these saved inexperienced electrons when demand is excessive and the nationwide grid is underneath huge quantities of pressure (and so extra reliant on fossil gasoline energy).
However we’ve lengthy mentioned that one of the best ways to drive international demand for inexperienced vitality is to ensure the greenest electrons are additionally the most cost effective. That’s the place AgileOctopus is available in.
AgileOctopus’ pricing modifications each half-hour, and is calculated on the moment-to-moment wholesale price of vitality (which varies based mostly on nationwide demand and gasoline make-up). When the wind is blowing, or the solar is shining, and demand is low, AgileOctopus clients can use vitality for extremely low costs, and generally, even unfavourable costs – yep, that’s proper, we’ll actually pay you to make use of vitality.
Collectively, AgileOctopus and Powervault permit you to refill ludicrously low cost ‘off-peak’ vitality to be used afterward – maximising your financial savings and minimising your carbon footprint!
However that’s not all! Powervault have additionally optimised their batteries with AgileOctopus to develop a groundbreaking trial in consumer-powered ‘demand-side response’ – mainly, bringing tons of of UK households collectively to intelligently ‘flip up’ and ‘flip down’ their house vitality use to assist stability the grid and benefit from renewable technology.
Be part of Powervault’s GridFLEX trial
- Get £500 off your Powervault 3 battery
- Get £10 monthly credited to your Octopus Power account
- All it’s important to do is opt-in – and Powervault will do the remaining. Their GridFLEX know-how will mechanically cost up and discharge your battery based mostly on what’s most useful for the grid, what provides you the greenest energy, and what makes your vitality invoice most cost-effective.
- You’ll be a part of a cutting-edge cohort of different clients across the UK – well utilizing your own home’s vitality demand to assist the grid.
- Clients who optimise Powervault with AgileOctopus typically save between £270 to £580 a yr in comparison with a median UK family’s vitality invoice.
How one can get began
Both e-mail hey@powervault.co.uk to investigate about getting your Powervault system put in. Quote ‘Agile’ obtain your low cost. OR, head to the Powervault web site and quote ‘Agile’ throughout signup.
Occupied with being a part of the trial? First be certain…
- You are an Octopus Power buyer (Not but a buyer? Get a quote right here)
- You are on our AgileOctopus tariff (In the event you’re already with Octopus and wish to swap to AgileOctopus, get your tariff transfer began right here)
- You may have a sensible meter we are able to take half-hourly readings from (both a SMETS2, or Safe SMETS1 mannequin meter). If you do not have one, we are able to set up one for you after you have switched to Octopus, however availability of appointments is a bit restricted on account of Covid-19 (our CEO has blogged about this right here). Relying on the place you reside, there could also be a delay getting you an set up appointment, however you’ll be able to register your curiosity right here and we’ll contact you when there’s slots obtainable close to you.
Please notice that you just’re becoming a member of a beta trial, which implies some issues might not work completely the primary time. Installations and processes might also take somewhat longer than standard, some third get together merchandise (like sensible meter in-home gadget screens) won’t be superior sufficient to work completely with us, and that occasionally information points can take a while to repair.
How does GridFLEX work?
The UK grid all the time has to stability vitality technology (or ‘provide’) with demand (from homes and companies utilizing energy). An unbalanced grid is vulnerable to surges or blackouts. As increasingly more renewables are delivered to the grid, making certain that this ‘intermittent’ provide can meet shopper demand turns into more and more tough. GridFLEX works as a result of when the UK grid is barely unbalanced, the electrical energy provide frequency begins to deviate from the usual 50Hz. Powervault’s sensible battery techniques can recognise this deviation and react by charging up or discharging to assist rebalance the grid. With GridFLEX and Agile, a big sufficient group of Powervault clients may work collectively to shortly assist restore regular grid frequency.
These grid occasions final about half an hour (and normally solely take a few minutes). So, the overwhelming majority of the time clients won’t discover a lot taking place. (Very sometimes it’ll look as if your Powervault expenses or discharges that deviate from the common schedule, in keeping with one of the best Agile import/export costs). Making use of for a Powervault and quoting ‘Agile’ for the low cost (as talked about above) will mechanically decide you into the GridFLEX service.
Now, hear from Powervault founders Joe Warren and Jack Peck on how this unbelievable trial provides clients an opportunity to play an enormous position in serving to renewables work on a bigger scale.
Powervault: powering the way forward for vitality as we speak
Good Powervault batteries operating with AgileOctopus are serving to to stability our renewable vitality grid
All through April and Could 2020, we caught a glimpse of the longer term, and it triggered fairly a stir throughout the vitality world.
Power costs went unfavourable. In different phrases, at sure factors vitality patrons and shoppers have really been being paid to use vitality. Occasions that flip the vitality market on its head like this have gotten more and more widespread, however why do they occur?
Unfavorable vitality costs
It’s all right down to the way in which totally different applied sciences work collectively to generate our vitality. Many photo voltaic and wind farms function with monetary assist based mostly on how a lot they generate (so that they don’t wish to shut down), and it may be awkward and costly for nuclear and huge thermal energy stations to show off for brief intervals too. Which means on significantly sunny and windy days the place electrical energy demand is low (take a scorching lazy Sunday afternoon, for instance), asking mills to show off to maintain the grid balanced may be dearer than asking customers to assist to make use of up that extra vitality. This implies costs go unfavourable, encouraging those that do “flip up” their vitality utilization to be paid for absorbing all that extra energy from the grid.
That’s the place Powervault comes into its personal!
Powervault and AgileOctopus
Over the previous 12 months Powervault batteries have been operating on the AgileOctopus tariff. With this revolutionary tariff, clients obtain a brand new value for electrical energy each half an hour, all yr spherical, relying on what’s taking place within the vitality market. If the price of supplying energy goes up, the worth you pay goes up (with a cap simply in case), and if the price goes down, the worth you pay goes down. And if the worth goes unfavourable, Octopus can pay you to take that extra vitality.
Earlier than the AgileOctopus Good Schedule I used to be setting handbook charging schedules for my Powervault at 5 pm day-after-day for the day forward. Now, with the sensible API there isn’t a want. “I really like with the ability to see the forecasted schedules on the Powervault portal, particularly in plunge pricing occasions! Throughout lockdown I’ve been paid as a lot as 11p/kW to take clear vitality off of the grid.
Paul Bendall, a Powervault buyer on the AgileOctopus tariff
The Powervault 3 makes use of intelligent demand prediction and climate forecasting to find out about your private energy utilization. Coupled with AgileOctopus it really works out one of the best cost / discharge schedule for the Powervault day-after-day – a ‘Good Schedule’ – which permits our clients to get the very lowest costs for electrical energy obtainable in the marketplace, and keep away from costly intervals within the night.
For the primary time the Good Schedule permits clients each with and with out photo voltaic save on their vitality payments. Modelling based mostly on an ‘common’ buyer’s utilization with out photo voltaic suggests financial savings of as much as £270 to 580 per yr* are attainable by switching to AgileOctopus and putting in a Powervault.
What’s extra, for patrons like Paul, Octopus additionally has an AgileOctopus tariff for exports to the grid. Which means any energy despatched out to the grid from the photo voltaic or Powervault additionally has a brand new value each half an hour. On weekends like these in April & Could 2020 when electrical energy costs went unfavourable however export costs stayed optimistic, the algorithm goes to city. Powervault batteries throughout the nation kick into motion, charging and discharging to stability the vitality markets whereas lowering our buyer’s payments.
As Paul explains: “It has been nice studying about how the grid operates via the AgileOctopus tariff and watching my Powervault reply to the peaks and troughs of electrical energy demand has been fascinating. It’s enabled me to regulate my consumption in a approach that’s higher for the setting.”
The way forward for vitality as we speak
To keep away from harmful local weather change and benefit from a clear vitality revolution and sustainable economic system, we shortly want to alter to a 100% clear vitality system. As the quantity of photo voltaic and wind technology will increase, days the place the worth of vitality goes unfavourable have gotten extra widespread.
Till as we speak, the normal use for a battery has been capturing any extra solar energy you’ll be able to’t use now and storing it for later: lowering your dependence on the grid. Powervault’s imaginative and prescient is maximising interplay with the grid to learn the system as complete, and rewarding our clients within the course of.
As an alternative of hundreds of properties utilizing and producing vitality in isolation, we see an interconnected community of sensible batteries, electrical warmth, electrical autos, and renewable vitality working collectively to supply 100% clear vitality at a extra reasonably priced value. And the information reveals this isn’t as futuristic because it sounds – it’s taking place proper now!
We at the moment are providing an unique £500 low cost to all new Powervault 3 clients with AgileOctopus, along with the chance to participate within the GridFlex scheme for a £10per month low cost. To search out out extra, get in contact! We’re right here to assist and would love to listen to from you.
*The exact efficiency of a battery is tough to foretell with certainty given that each house is totally different. Powervault’s battery fashions use trade normal demand profiles utilized by Ofgem to simulate a median home buyer (PC1). The vary £270 to £580 is predicated on modelling of buyer profiles with out photo voltaic and with demand of three,100 to eight,000kWh per yr. The financial savings calculate the financial savings of switching from a normal £0.16p/kWh single price tariff to AgileOctopus, in addition to the modeled good thing about charging and discharging the battery utilizing Powervault’s AgileOctopus optimisation algorithm.
