Next Energy
NextEnergy is a young and progressive energy supplier with dynamic contracts that wants to contribute to solving the energy transition from the homes of its customers.
The basics
This starts with offering dynamic energy contracts that allow customers to pay per hour what energy costs at that moment. Basically, this is already fairer and cheaper for its customers than permanent contracts.
When customers then adjust their energy consumption to the load on the energy network (and associated price fluctuations), even more can be saved.
Smart Home
To make an even more significant contribution to the network congestion problem, NextEnergy has more plans.
Smart car loading
For example, the possibility was subsequently developed (by Quatronic) to let your electric car charge automatically at the most favorable times.
Home battery
The next big step was to install customers' home batteries and control them smartly based on the so-called “imbalance” on the grid. This means that the load on the grid is even checked every quarter of an hour compared to the generally predicted load. If there are major deviations, a customer can receive additional compensation if they have a home battery that can be used to absorb both negative and positive peaks (charge/discharge).
Of course, this is fully automatic so that a customer only allows the battery to be installed via NextEnergy and an associated “gateway” that makes the interaction between NextEnergy and the battery possible.
In order to realize the home battery proposition, there were several complex organizational and technical issues that had to be solved. Quatronic took care of the technical part.
The main challenge of this project was to develop two different solutions (hardware and software) in parallel in a rapid and iterative process.
- Hardware development is generally slower than software development and is also less likely to be adapted during the process;
- The hardware specifications required a software base/vision of how and what to communicate back and forth;
Hardware challenges
- Analyzing and selecting how a home battery, as well as solar panels and heat pumps, are ideally controlled and monitored;
- Then select parties that design, certify and manufacture the hardware;
- Crucial here is the match in culture in order to learn quickly from each other together and to gradually achieve a final solution;
- Keep clean lines between designing, certifying and manufacturing parties in order to be able to quickly move on to production;
Software challenges
- Scalable architecture to exchange and store bulk IoT data;
- Real-time monitoring and forecasting ideal moments to (un) load;
- A minimalist customer app to gain insight into your home battery performance;
- Technicians support during the installation process by having settings entered and providing insight into the condition of the installation.
Gateway
Together with a hardware development company, a design was made for the gateway that enables NextEnergy to remotely control a home battery.
Smart loading algorithm
- An algorithm that determines when to (un) charge based on the imbalance and specific properties of a battery so that money can be earned by reducing grid congestion;
- Communication with the gateway to control and read batteries.
Smart loading app
An app that shows:
- what the current power consumption in a household is like (towards your car, solar panels, battery and others);
- how much has been consumed and earned per quarter.
App installers
- An app that allows the installer to configure and validate the installation for use;
- A back end to plan and prepare installations.
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Frank
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