Articles

Some FAQs about Klugit's role on Smart Grids

Electrical grid is all the process and infrastructure that allows you to receive electricity at your home from the power plant. Most people do not know this, but as soon as you turn ON a light bulb, additional electricity is instantly produced to meet this increase in demand, thanks to a very advanced system and also because electricity storage is still not a reality. So demand and supply of electricity need to be always matched.

Smart grid is the digital evolution of this process. With the help of new technologies, controls and automationsmart grid proposes a much more powerful 2-way dialogue between homes and power plants, with three goals in mind: greener, cheaper and more reliable electricity. 
In this post we covered the biggest challenge of renewable energy - its intermittance. Smart grid together with solutions like Klugit will play a critical role overcoming this obstacle.


What kind of interactions can Klugit make with the smart grid and what are the benefits of this association?

Klugit is being developed in order to be part of the smart grid concept. APIs will be available to our utilities partners, so that they are able to control remotely the on/off of electric water heaters according to grid needs, without compromising hot water needs from families. Klugit knows when hot water will be needed and that will not be compromised.

With this concept Klugit and utilities will be able to explore:
  • Peak shaving - turn off all electric water heaters with Klugit when there is a peak of electricity demand;
  • Energy storage - turn on electric water heaters when there is an excess of electricity supply, especially from renewable energy;
  • Load shifting - give priority to "empty" hours to heat up hot water, avoiding peak hours;
  • Dynamic tariffs (when available) - allow users to access and prefer lower tariffs periods to heat up their water.


Can Klugit technology interconnect with smart meters and what is the potential of that connection?

Yes . Klugit can be interconnected with smart meters and HANs (Home Area Networks) in order to better manage the whole house energy needs, avoiding peaks in each house and in the whole grid. Smart meter interaction will be an additional help to avoid fraud, to determine that Klugit is actually being used in that specific house so that those users are entitled to the agreed benefits. This interaction will also be helpful to have more precise energy consumption reports and better advise electric water heaters' users of the best tariffs.


Will Klugit  have a “customer report”, to inform its customers of the amount of energy saved?

Yes, Klugit will offer a monthly report and a current status in the app, where the users will be able to see how much are they spending on hot water heating, how long are they using hot water compared to other months and most importantly how much are they saving by having Klugit Smart Mode ON.  Also, it will be possible to know how many times the device was remotely activated by the utility and for which benefits.


Will Klugit system be useful in modern high efficiency water heaters? How does Klugit distinguishes itself from this competition?

Yes, it is compatible in theory, but it has not yet been tested. In terms of damages to built-in electronics of a smart water heater, there is no risk since Klugit will not perform hundreds of heat up cycles per day, but only about 3-5. Anyhow, it will be cheaper and with higher value added to buy Klugit + a normal water heater, instead of the smart water heater, as you can see here.


Source: SmartGrid

Become a climate change fighter while also saving money and enjoying clean-energy showers!

Subscribe now to know when we launch and check other articles below.
Made on
Tilda