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#Energy prices are soaring. To tackle rising costs, homeowners are getting ready for a lot of clock-watching, pre-cooling, unplugging and late-night laundry. But there's a better way. ☀️ In California, the situation is particularly extreme: prices have risen by 110% since 2014, leaving one-fifth of the population struggling to pay their bills. > https://lnkd.in/expPKxPa [Tsvetana Paraskova | OilPrice.com] This comes just as demand for electricity is increasing, and that’s part of the problem. One of the reasons prices are rising is because utilities are investing billions of dollars in expanding capacity and shoring up the grid against increasingly extreme weather. > https://lnkd.in/eECdRpDz [Alex Baumhardt | Seaside Signal] There are plenty of ways to save energy. Run energy-hungry appliances like washing machines and dishwashers when rates are lowest. Unplug “energy vampires” that use electricity even when they aren’t operating. Close your curtains and adjust your air conditioning to avoid the need to cool off an overheated house all at once. But these savings come at the cost of time and mental energy. That’s one of the reasons why more and more homeowners are investing in home #solar and home energy upgrades. They’ve already tapped into $8 billion in federal Inflation Reduction Act benefits. > https://lnkd.in/ghZxbjdy [Julie Zauzmer Weil | The Washington Post] That’s saving money on energy bills, but it’s also paying off in the long term: home solar alone boosts home prices by an average of 7%. > https://lnkd.in/eBZD2Y3u [Kristen Lawrence | The Cool Down] But that’s not the only extra money on the table. Utilities are beginning to see the potential of distributed energy resources like Virtual Power Plants (#VPPs), which can use clean energy produced by many different homes to help shore up the grid. > https://lnkd.in/eV7SCN4r [Jon Reed | CNET] And for the people inside those houses, smart home energy systems like dcbel's Home Energy Station will allow them to save energy — and earn extra money — without having to worry about managing everything themselves.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has gone public with its official framework for vehicle-to-grid integration. In our last post, we outlined four of the five pillars that will hold up this new plan. > https://lnkd.in/e2ruBkZb But it’s the final pillar that we’re most excited about.   That’s because it’s all about the #customer. This is what counts for the average EV owner, because it’s the part of VGI they’ll be dealing with every day.   According to the DOE, consumers need a choice of charging options, providers and rates — and all those options should be clear and accessible. They need to be able to decide how to interface with the grid so they can make the most money in a way that is convenient to them. That compensation needs to be commensurate with value provided to the grid.   And above all, things should be simple and straightforward. “Implementation complexity is invisible to customers and reduces the participation burden,” notes the report. “Technology eases the customer’s ability to respond to dynamic rates or signals that optimize charging or discharging based on grid or market conditions. Customer set preferences ensure that EV drivers do not need to continually manage and respond to signals themselves.” What are your thoughts on the DOE's #VGI roadmap?

Vehicle-grid integration (#VGI) is the future. Don’t take our word for it: it’s what the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is saying in a new report. But how exactly will it work? Let’s dig in. Last month, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), U.S. Department of Energy outlined its vision for how America’s growing fleet of #EVs can build a more resilient power #grid. > https://lnkd.in/e2ruBkZb “Society is changing the way that we power our homes and businesses, as well as how we fuel our cars,” said Gil Bindewald, principal deputy assistant secretary for DOE's Office of Electricity, when the report was released. “This vision for the future of vehicle grid integration provides a destination to plan and align towards.” The overall goal? “A system that is more nimble, flexible, resilient, and clean while also more dependent on and responsive to customer decisions,” according to the report. Soon, millions of EVs will be not only using power from the grid but sending it back in times of need. For that to happen, the DOE has outlined five pillars that will support sustainable VGI. 1. There’s the need for #secure physical hardware and digital systems, to ward off cyberattacks and other threats. 2. Then there’s universal #value, which means that #bidirectional charging can be used to save money not just for EV owners but everyone, thanks to lower electricity rates. That means rates that change according to demand and grid conditions. And it also means ensuring that the energy stored in EV batteries can be accessed in emergencies like extreme weather events. 3. Next, right-sized infrastructure. Transparent, real-time data and load #forecasting will be essential to making VGI efficient and affordable. Flexible interconnection and active network management enabled by smart chargers will also be crucial. 4. Also important: standards, codes and protocols that are “open by default, non-proprietary and sufficiently defined to enable #interoperability, yet provide enough flexibility to enable innovation.” This avoids closed-off charging systems or VGI interfaces that would stifle competition and keep prices high. One thing is certain: these pillars cannot be addressed through legacy technology. dcbel's Home Energy Station is the only solution that lays the foundation for next-generation bidirectional charging by incorporating military-grade security, interoperability, intelligence and smart grid connectivity. But it’s the last pillar that is arguably the most important — and we’ll explain why in our next post.

Remember when programmable thermostats were a great leap forward for energy efficiency? Now we’re shooting for the stars. The next generation of smart home energy systems that can save you money, reduce energy usage and coordinate complicated tasks through machine learning. Just take a look at Google’s next Nest Learning Thermostat, which will use AI to learn your schedule and ideal comfort levels so it knows exactly when to adjust the temperature and by how much - while also being connected to the outside world of energy prices. > https://lnkd.in/eZ32QeW5 [Catherine Ellis | TechRadar] Google isn’t alone in taking this approach. Research from Samsung shows that customers feel more peace of mind when they have better control over their appliances, especially since it simplifies chores and saves them time and money. > https://lnkd.in/e33Hyi2J [Daren Tay | Samsung Electronics] That’s why the global market for smart home appliances is growing by 8.4% per year, with an expected market value of nearly $64 billion by 2030. > https://lnkd.in/e5zt2vVn But there’s a missing piece of the puzzle. Most of the products on the market today focus on managing the energy you consume. But what about the energy you produce? This summer, California marked a milestone of 100 consecutive days in which the state met 100% of its electricity demand with renewables for at least part of the day. > https://lnkd.in/eUccitfN [Michelle Lewis | Electrek.co] That energy is not just coming from massive solar fields and wind farms: it’s also being produced by distributed energy resources like residential solar. Imagine you had the kind of control the new Google Nest offers over thermostats, but for all of the energy in your house. That’s the approach dcbel has taken with the Ara Home Energy Station. It’s a device that converts kilowatt after kilowatt of energy from heavy-duty assets like solar panels, EVs and home batteries — while also learning from your schedule and the world around you to save and earn you the most money possible. Energy prosumers are the future, and all-in-one intelligence is not a nice-to-have — it's a must for seamless energy management.

Electrification is steaming ahead but for it to truly succeed, we need a zero-emissions mindset. To meet fast-growing demand, energy #storage is essential — especially when paired with clean #solar energy. Recent news from across the US underlines why. When Texas was pounded by Hurricane Beryl last month, more than 2.6 million people across the state were left without power. But savvy homeowners whose EVs are capable of #V2L charging were able to keep critical appliances running. > https://lnkd.in/gpHqa9Mz [Suvrat Kothari | InsideEVs] “My [EV] was better than a gas generator for a number of reasons,” one homeowner said. “It was running in the garage, with the door closed, there were no toxic fumes to inhale and the system was completely silent. I did not need to run out and get gas so we avoided those long lines." Now, just a few weeks after the storm, Texas is dealing with yet more bad weather: a heat wave that is sending temperatures into the triple digits, putting the state’s power grid at risk of rolling #blackouts. > https://lnkd.in/g27qeM3f [Brooke Kushwaha | Chron.com] Extreme weather like this is making things more unpredictable, but one thing can be easily forecasted: growing demand for electricity. In New York, it’s expected to grow 90% by 2042. The state's installed capacity will need to grow to 130 gigawatts from 37 gigawatts today. > https://lnkd.in/gn4CTpJm [Robert Walton | Utility Dive] Clean energy like solar will make up a big part of that increased power supply. It already accounts for 9% of US electrical generation. But to truly capture its potential, we need much more storage. Some of that will come from utility-scale battery storage, but distributed energy resources like those EVs that kept the lights on in Houston will be a key piece of the puzzle. > https://lnkd.in/e7UEPxKV [Renewables Now Ltd] Many states are coming to that realization. That’s the case in Illinois, where a new study has found that battery storage will allow the state to retain reliability even after all of its fossil fuel generation is retired. > https://lnkd.in/e398UhGH [Kevin Carden, Chase Winkler, P.E.] | Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)] The lesson: homes equipped with storage in the form of home batteries and EVs are well equipped to face the future!

The next generation of power sources is here — and they may already be in your driveway, on your roof or in your utility cupboard. Home #batteries, #EVs and #solar can work together to create virtual power plants (#VPPs) that can boost reliability, cost-effectiveness and efficiency. That’s going to be very important as the weak points of the existing power grid become apparent. Just look at #Texas, where regular bouts of severe weather have had a disastrous effect on the state’s energy system. Billions of dollars are being spent to make the grid more resilient, but it’s long, hard work. > https://lnkd.in/gqqDuPqq [Alejandra Martinez | Killeen Daily Herald] That’s where VPPs could prove especially useful. While the grid has historically been a one-way street, with power moving from power plants to end consumers, distributed energy resources are rapidly changing that model. And when you turn a group of DERs into a network, you get a VPP that can offer localized power to a specific community or energy on demand to the grid as a whole. > https://lnkd.in/ey2N6syP [Sally Jacquemin | POWER magazine] The decentralized nature of VPPs can save a lot of money when you compare them to building new power plants. And in theory, they have the potential to be just about anywhere — and everywhere. Consider the latest surge of EV purchases: Toyota has quadrupled its EV sales in the US this year, and this is a company with the ambition to fully embrace the potential of #bidirectional charging. Once you have the right software, a bidi EV can be an integral part of a VPP that uses AI to anticipate load trends and weather events. > https://lnkd.in/dUKBGx3y [InsideEVs] For consumers, that means more resilient energy, with an added bonus on top of that. Just look at what’s happening in North Carolina, where a new Duke Energy Corporation pilot program offers up to $9,000 in incentives for customers with solar and home batteries. > https://lnkd.in/gnrVnrMg [Kimberly Warner-Cohen] It’s only a matter of time before this becomes the norm.

Is there a way to deal with the #duck #curve? It refers to the way #solar energy production tapers off towards the end of the day and power generation needs to ramp up quickly to compensate. Now that curve is getting sharper — and we need new tools to address it. In the past, writes journalist Christopher Arcus, “daily load curve was smoother and generation ramping was slower, so gas generators and fast ramping generation was confined mostly to sudden system outage needs and relatively infrequent occurrences like storms.” > https://lnkd.in/ee7ZYn28 [CleanTechnica] With California producing more solar energy than it knows how to deal with — a problem that could afflict other states in the near future — there’s more of a need for fast response that makes use of battery storage instead of gas generators. > https://lnkd.in/gZWdHPjJ [Institute for Energy Research] But current energy management systems aren't well equipped to deal with it. They still overwhelmingly rely on anachronistic demand-response mechanisms based on SMS or email notifications, usually sent 24 hours in advance, that urge customers to use less energy at specific times.   Arcus is disappointed by this. “I envisioned a system where smart devices were under voluntary control via direct means via the internet,” he writes. “The system would allow users to control how much and if they chose to participate via an app that they control. That way, signals could be broadcast rapidly, responses would be automatic and not require manual intervention or nags via snail mail and text, and in general would require less user-required interaction.”   The key here is that demand and supply need to interact in real time — or at least with minimal delay. And that’s exactly what dcbel’s Home Energy System is meant to do. It can evaluate grid conditions, energy prices and other factors every five minutes, offering exactly the kind of automatic energy management we need to handle the energy transition in a way that benefits everyone.

Does #charging an #EV use as much energy as an entire neighborhood? Are EVs going to crash the grid? There are a couple of weird EV #myths floating around right now. Here’s why they’re wrong. First, let’s look at the idea that plugging in your EV takes as much electricity as all your neighbors combined. There’s a meme that is spreading through social media that makes this claim. “In case you didn't know ... One EV supercharger pushes out 350 kw,” it reads. “The average home uses 1.2 kw. So to put that into perspective. Your EV is pulling 260 houses worth of energy off the grid so that you can feel better about the environment.” > https://lnkd.in/dQ3VFtjQ [Kate S. Petersen | USA TODAY] As with so many myths, this is rooted in a half-truth. Yes, in theory a car could momentarily pull 350 kilowatts off the grid if it’s plugged into a supercharger. But most people charging at home are using much less powerful chargers, and Department of Energy data show that the average EV uses less energy per year than a single house. In fact, residential EV charging accounts for 2,363 kWh per year on average – less than air conditioning, hot water and heating. That’s one myth busted. What about the idea that the growing number of EVs is going to overwhelm the grid? It’s important to keep in mind that grid capacity is growing, and six years of average grid growth can handle 100% EV adoption — something that definitely isn’t going to happen within six years. There’s also a lot of flexibility in grids during off-peak hours, which is when most EVs are being charged. > https://lnkd.in/ddxKunWf [Jennifer A. Sensiba | CleanTechnica] And don’t forget #V2G. It’s finally coming, with more and more bidirectional-ready EVs on the market and utilities laying the groundwork for consumers to sell EV energy back to the grid. Researchers in Switzerland have been studying how this will work, and they found that EVs delivered the amount of electricity requested by grid operators within a matter of seconds. > https://lnkd.in/djd-9EE4 [Honda Motor Europe Ltd] The next time you see an EV meme on social media, take it with a grain of salt. Because EVs aren’t a burden: they’re an asset that will help the grid more efficient and more reliable for everyone.

Extreme weather is causing power troubles right across the US, from scorching heat in Arizona to storms in the Twin Cities to Hurricane Beryl in Texas. Is the grid vulnerable in your neck of the woods? And what can you do to protect yourself? There’s an optimistic answer to that question. But first, let’s look at the less-than-rosy situation this summer. In #Texas, Beryl’s ferocious winds and rains knocked out power to 2.7 million customers this month, with many still in the dark more than a week later. In #Minneapolis and #StPaul, storms knocked out power to 75,000 people. #Arizonans are being asked to conserve energy as they deal with extremely high temperatures. This kind of wild weather has become more common in recent years and it’s only going to get worse. For now, energy conservation efforts usually take the form of #DemandResponse programs. And they work: #Oregon avoided power cuts last week when customers collectively reduced demand by more than 100 megawatts on two consecutive days last week. It was the largest electricity demand shift in the history of Portland General Electric. > https://lnkd.in/ezqEpaRh [Portland General Electric] But we need that process to become more streamlined and efficient in the face of increasingly unsettled weather. With #EV sales on a steady increase, imagine that entire powerful fleet of vehicles ready to dispatch energy at a moment’s notice. It would keep the lights and AC on at home — and right across the grid — without the laundry list of programs to sign up for and keep tabs on. Just automated energy savings and earnings without any fuss. Sounds good, right? The place to start is to buy an EV. Despite currently high sticker prices, EVs have a long-term cost advantage over their gas counterparts in 48 states. Check out how your state fares > https://lnkd.in/g3V78cA7 [Hannah Lutz | Automotive News]

Behind-the-meter #DERs are slated to skyrocket and #bidirectional power flow is entering the scene. How will rate structures evolve to keep up with this new real-time intelligence? The answer is real-time pricing (RTP), and it's how one California utility will be setting rates for upcoming vehicle-grid integration (VGI) pilots. Real-time pricing in the Golden State is tied into the California Flexible Unified Signal for Energy (#CalFUSE) framework, which was devised to solve many of the grid challenges anticipated in the future. Import and export prices will be based on real-time grid utilization, and it would enable #transactive features — that is, to execute contracts to import or export energy at some future time at a predetermined price. > https://lnkd.in/gDbAwV4g [California Public Utilities Commission] The framework “is complex, but the complexity will be outweighed by the benefits in the long run,” Southern California Edison Director of Pricing Design and Research Robert Thomas told Utility Dive when the above whitepaper was released. On the whole, he said, dynamic pricing will “add up to significant affordability gains.” > https://lnkd.in/eg-uAbEu [Herman Trabish | Utility Dive] How significant? The whitepaper estimates $919 in annual savings for households with storage such as a home battery or an EV capable of bidirectional charging. There would be much bigger cost savings for the grid as a whole. Widespread DERs that enable load flexibility could save up to $500 million per year by reducing the need to curtain renewable generation — the benefit of storing excess solar energy for when it’s most needed. And in total, a state the size of Texas or California could save up to $5 billion per year in electrical costs with DERs and a flexible energy market. The scenario outlined in the CalFUSE whitepaper is finally coming to fruition with PG&E’s new VGI pilots, which are being approved by California regulators this week. > https://lnkd.in/eyg_kwN2 The next step is to embrace smart home energy devices like dcbel Ara, which could respond to RTP automatically. Because who has time to follow real-time energy prices and schedule their DER activity daily? As VGI pilots lead to permanent policies, finding the right tool to manage smart home energy will be essential.