By Ian Tobin
If we could shift demand for electrical power to align with solar power production, this would allow more solar to be used … and demand less from the grid. This is often referred to as solar soak or load-shifting.
Australia is on track to have roof top solar generation at a level that would meet all power required, assuming that power consumption could be constrained to match solar production, which is not practical. We can’t run our refrigerator at night, for example, on rooftop solar alone. So, the question becomes, what can be done to better harness rooftop solar energy?
Electric hot water heaters usually heat at night
Electric hot water heater and storage
Domestic batteries are one obvious source. However there’s a much cheaper option which involves the storage of energy via hot water – that’s right hot water “batteries”! Hot water batteries are better known as electrical hot water heaters: the off-peak storage heaters that many existing and some new builds have installed. In the majority of cases, electric hot water heaters heat at night; this is a hang-over from coal fired power stations that need base load demand in order to avoid stopping – a very undesirable situation.
We need your help
2030Yea is currently exploring ways to enable hot water load-shift within Yea and are in active discussions with our partners Indigo Power and RMIT School of Engineering. 2030Yea is also fully engaged with AusNet who are acutely aware of the solar feed-in challenges, that is, the ability to better utilise available and upcoming solar production. Anyone who has rooftop solar will know of the reduction in feed-in tariffs in part due to the level of supply of solar versus matched lack of demand for power.
With the detailed RMIT analysis it has become clear that 1am is peak power demand for Yea, so we have an opportunity to shift this demand and allow rooftop solar energy to be soaked.
Exciting times! Again, 2030Yea is seeking out options to fund a load-shifting project, but for now we need your assistance by completing a short survey.
Thanks for your support.
