Turning waste into climate-friendly energy

THE DANISH ENERGY INDUSTRIES FEDERATION – SpEcIAl ADvERTISING SUpplEmENT
Powering your house with
electricity from your car
”In comparison to other
countries, much of Denmark’s
energy production
is already decentralised.
Around 30 percent is renewable
energy, and up to
50 percent of intrinsically
fluctuating wind energy
will be integrated into the
grid by 2020. It is clearly an
advantage to have this expertise,
which we can use
to lead the way in creating
development and growth,”
says Andreea Balasiu.
In the smart grid of the future,
private dwellings will be
equipped to produce renewable
energy as well as consume it,
so householders can both buy
and sell electricity to the grid.
One of the companies working
to make this a reality is Siemens.
By: Marianne Sommer
Somewhere in Denmark, an electric
vehicle (EV) arrives home to a house
with solar panels on the roof and its
own wind turbine. There is still plenty
of power in the EV battery, which is
plugged into the house’s own electricity
grid. Because it is a time of day when
many householders are operating
electrical equipment and electricity is
more expensive, the householder uses
electricity from the EV battery. During
the night, when electricity is cheaper,
the EV battery can then be charged up
from the grid.
”What can make this scenario a future
reality is that every house will be
equipped with an intelligent electricity
meter which enables electricity to
be sold to or bought from the grid depending
on whether the house is generating
more or less electricity than
it needs. At the same time, the usage
of electricity inside the house can be
made more intelligent,” says Andreea
Balasiu, Sales Manager at Siemens.
HOME AuTOMATION
Software applications will need to be
developed for electricity companies
so that they can constantly monitor
which types of production plant are
producing energy, how much renewable
energy there is in the system, and
what the pattern of energy consumption
and level of demand look like.
”Every house will be equipped with
a home automation unit, which can
plan and control energy use in the
dwelling and minimise electricity bills
by adjusting electricity use according
to price and availability. Consumption
can also be controlled by using a
web portal or smart phone app, so you
don’t even have to be at home to control
electricity consumption in your
house,” says Balasiu.
Eu suppORT NEEdEd
In order to realise these visions for
tomorrow’s energy system, political
support is needed. ”The EU plays
an important role in the financing
of demonstration projects, and also
has an eye to formulating standards.
All member states need to be part of
the standardisation process so that
systems are established which operate
across borders. It wouldn’t make
sense to have an EV that can only be
charged up in one country – the system
must function across borders,
just as mobile phones work anywhere
where there is a network connection,”
says Balasiu.