Energy | January 03, 2012 |
Home Energy Management Apps Go Mobile
by Anissa Dehamna
One of the key drivers for community and residential energy storage is distributed solar photovoltaics (PV). This is because distributed PV causes fluctuations on low-voltage networks (the end of the line of the grid, essentially). In order for the residential side of the market to take off, customers need an incentive to prioritize either onsite consumption of renewable energy or dynamic pricing for residential electricity rates. Either will work, but both will require customers to have better information about energy and how they are using it.
To that end, California-based solar PV developer and manufacturer SunPower has introduced a smartphone application for Android that delivers information to customers on the energy performance of their residential solar system, their home’s energy usage, and environmental savings on an hourly, monthly and annual basis. The app also gives users access to historical data and the option to share data. This mirrors the tracking data available on the firm’s website, but delivers the information more conveniently and without the need to log into a website.
Although this doesn’t present a financial incentive for residential energy storage, apps like these improve the energy awareness of homeowners much in the way that smart meters do. Presenting residential PV owners with more information about their energy generation and use is the first step in helping customers understand whether or not they would benefit from optimizing distributed renewables by using storage.
Other apps in a similar vein include Radio Thermostat, which lets users who have installed physical radio thermostats in their homes to remotely manage the temperature from a smartphone. Many more applications are educational, teaching users how to improve energy efficiency and perform energy audits. These apps are just scratching the surface in terms of home energy management, but are nonetheless important because they are making information accessible, easy to understand, and most importantly, easy to use.
Anissa Dehamna is a research analyst for Pike Research with a concentration on emerging energy technologies and sustainable development.
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Comments By Readers
I have looked into this issue as well, and nfdiing data does take some serious searching. Part of the problem is that it is very hard to fully calculate the energy inputs required to create a system, let alone to correctly average these costs across the many types of PV systems available. In speaking to solar installation experts, what I understand is that today's solar panels are lasting a tremendously long time. As with hybrid car batteries, there is a set period of years covered by warranty and a period of years that the cells are expected to still gather a large (90% or so) amount of their stated power. But, the reality is that installers are seeing the systems work at 95% efficiency multiple decades after installation. This makes the calculation even harder (we don't know when the system will actually stop saving energy), but has helped me to believe that the PV systems will save a significant amount of energy over their usable lifetime. This will only improve over time as the new systems we keep reading about come to market.In searching for answers I found some research I have linked to this answer. Basically- Australian study concludes a system lasts 30 years, takes the first 8-11 to pay back the energy (60% of which is from the wafer manufacture). However, they note that systems may last 40-50 years! They further project that a system created in 2010 will likely require only 2 years to pay back, due to the increasingly efficient technology.- June 2006 article on a study that averages several studies to conclude a payback time of 4 years.- National Renewable Energy Laboratory study concluded a 4 year pay back.The above articles also make it clear that there is a very favorable net pollution reduction as well. PV seems to be a great way to go!I don't want to stray off topic too much, but you may also wish to look into solar water heaters, which are often simpler (likely lower energy input) and generate the same energy reduction for a home (but at a lower $ cost).
This book contains very litlte actionable information for people who want to begin installing a basic solar power system. If you've never heard of solar power, then this book will provide a bird's eye view of the concepts involved. However, if you want to learn the basics AND obtain enough information to wire a couple of panels, a couple of batteries, and add the controller and inverter to the system, then you better look elsewhere because you are not going to find that level of detail in this book. If you've ever seen a television show about solar powered homes, then you have no need to read this book.
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