case study: The Internet of Energy
All of this is occurring while, at the same time, Vector’s network control has full visibility of when and where spikes in the demand for energy will occur, so that we can better plan for and control the network, and manage energy load to lessen stress on infrastructure. It also means that as the city grows and evolves we can seamlessly upgrade and future-proof Auckland’s energy platform to help ‘plug-in to the grid’, whatever the future has in store. In this way, our network can provide you with the freedom to take up energy alternatives, as well as sell energy back to the network, trade energy via peer-to-peer trading, or store energy via batteries. It sounds futuristic. But it wasn’t that long ago that the idea of solar panels powering homes was scoffed at – now they’re going to be compulsory in all new homes in California from 2020. DERMS. Today, across Vector’s energy network, there are thousands of solar panel and storage battery connections on the network. In the past five years, the number of EVs in New Zealand has skyrocketed from just 192 in January 2013 to 9,241 in July 2018 – a 4,713% increase. This spike in EVs and other distributed
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THE INTERNET OF ENERGY.
The world of energy is rapidly becoming more complex, and transitioning from ‘hardware driven’ to ‘hardware and software driven’. How you receive, use and store your energy in 10 years’ time will be significantly different to now. Can you remember how your day played out before the iPhone was launched in 2007? How you had to physically go to the bank or sit at a desktop to transfer money? Or how you got around in a new town before clicking to open Google maps? Ten years is not that long. Vector is doing everything it can to help you stay ahead of the curve by investing in an intelligent, connected, open and innovative platform that will allow smarter network management and enable innovative retailers to create exciting new products and services for consumers. HOW YOU MIGHT USE ENERGY IN THE FUTURE. Picture this: you’ve just arrived home in your EV. It’s been a sunny day, so the HRV solar panels on your roof have generated enough energy to fully charge your home battery. The family is turning on the heater, the television, and appliances in the kitchen in preparation for dinner. The price of using power may have changed from earlier in the day. But it’s all good – you’ve got a full storage battery, so you can use that to power your home. And while that’s happening, you’ve plugged your EV into the wall to discharge energy left in your car’s battery to sell onto the Auckland energy network and make a little bit of money. As you’re getting ready for bed, you reverse the charge of your car battery to fill it up for the commute to work tomorrow – either from what’s left in your storage battery, or directly from the power grid now that the price of electricity has changed again. The next day you repeat the cycle.
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