ᐅ Planned Throttling of Electric Vehicle Chargers and Heat Pumps
Created on: 15 Mar 2023 10:16
S
sub-xeroHello dear photovoltaic enthusiasts,
Like many others, I had my new build equipped one year ago with a photovoltaic system, battery storage, heat pump, and electric vehicle charger. Everything is running to my highest satisfaction, and on average over the year, I am about 75% self-sufficient (including electricity for the heat pump).
Now, the politicians in our so-called banana republic Germany have come up with the brilliant idea to throttle the power supply for heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers starting in 2024. The reason is that our power grids would be completely overloaded with the expected development (electric cars and heat pumps). I understand that the promotion of electric vehicles and heat pumps does not fit well with the unplanned and poorly thought-out implementation of renewable energy, and therefore, shortages are likely to occur.
In this context, I am interested in how this throttling would actually be implemented in practice. Here are a few questions for open discussion:
The electricity I draw from the grid cannot be divided into "electricity for the EV charger," "electricity for the heat pump," "electricity for the household," etc. It is a total amount of X kW. Statements like:
According to the concept of the Federal Network Agency, if a shortage threatens, for example, EV chargers or heat pumps should be throttled down to a power of 3.7 kilowatts to prevent an overload.
are, in my view, completely unrealistic. The devices are not supplied individually from the grid. In a worst-case scenario, there would then be no electricity left for the freezer or the computer. That is obviously not acceptable.
Grid operators want to be able to "unilaterally and indefinitely" throttle devices in case of an impending grid overload. The planned regulation applies only to households that have installed, for example, an EV charger or a heat pump. The household itself would remain unaffected by a possible short-term dimming. The refrigerator, washing machine, and internet would continue to operate as usual.
How is this supposed to work technically?
In any case, the usefulness of installing heat pumps in houses without photovoltaic systems is questionable.
If private EV chargers are throttled, the trend toward e-mobility in Germany will definitely be further hindered. (Charging at 3.7 kW is possible and sufficient in many cases, but firstly, the power loss is relatively high, and secondly, in some situations, one wants to be able to charge faster with 11 kW.)
Like many others, I had my new build equipped one year ago with a photovoltaic system, battery storage, heat pump, and electric vehicle charger. Everything is running to my highest satisfaction, and on average over the year, I am about 75% self-sufficient (including electricity for the heat pump).
Now, the politicians in our so-called banana republic Germany have come up with the brilliant idea to throttle the power supply for heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers starting in 2024. The reason is that our power grids would be completely overloaded with the expected development (electric cars and heat pumps). I understand that the promotion of electric vehicles and heat pumps does not fit well with the unplanned and poorly thought-out implementation of renewable energy, and therefore, shortages are likely to occur.
In this context, I am interested in how this throttling would actually be implemented in practice. Here are a few questions for open discussion:
The electricity I draw from the grid cannot be divided into "electricity for the EV charger," "electricity for the heat pump," "electricity for the household," etc. It is a total amount of X kW. Statements like:
According to the concept of the Federal Network Agency, if a shortage threatens, for example, EV chargers or heat pumps should be throttled down to a power of 3.7 kilowatts to prevent an overload.
are, in my view, completely unrealistic. The devices are not supplied individually from the grid. In a worst-case scenario, there would then be no electricity left for the freezer or the computer. That is obviously not acceptable.
Grid operators want to be able to "unilaterally and indefinitely" throttle devices in case of an impending grid overload. The planned regulation applies only to households that have installed, for example, an EV charger or a heat pump. The household itself would remain unaffected by a possible short-term dimming. The refrigerator, washing machine, and internet would continue to operate as usual.
How is this supposed to work technically?
In any case, the usefulness of installing heat pumps in houses without photovoltaic systems is questionable.
If private EV chargers are throttled, the trend toward e-mobility in Germany will definitely be further hindered. (Charging at 3.7 kW is possible and sufficient in many cases, but firstly, the power loss is relatively high, and secondly, in some situations, one wants to be able to charge faster with 11 kW.)
W
WilderSueden15 Mar 2023 10:19sub-xero schrieb:
How is that supposed to work technically? Just like it already does now. If you have a second meter for the heat pump, it can be turned off during peak load times. In this respect, the allowed 3.7 kW (4.96 hp) is a significant improvement, as you get a heating output of over 10 kW (13.41 hp).
If the car and heat pump run on household electricity, nothing would get worse. However, household electricity is usually more expensive than heating electricity.
In my opinion, the whole discussion is a storm in a teacup. The shut-off already exists in reality today.
R
RotorMotor15 Mar 2023 11:24sub-xero schrieb:
Like many others, I had my new build equipped with a photovoltaic system, battery storage, heat pump, and wall charger about a year ago. Everything runs to my utmost satisfaction, and on average throughout the year, I am about 75% self-sufficient (including electricity for the heat pump). Wow, that’s really impressive! Unfortunately, I only managed about 65%. :-(
sub-xero schrieb:
If a bottleneck is imminent, according to the concept of the Federal Network Agency, for example, wall chargers or heat pumps should be able to be throttled down to a power level of 3.7 kilowatts to prevent overload. I agree with that. Currently, this throttling to 3.7 kW is not implemented in any device as far as I know.
Neither cars, nor wall chargers, nor heat pumps can limit their power consumption like this.
However, many devices can be switched off at present.
There is nothing against creating laws for future devices/consumers.
Controllable loads can definitely make a valuable contribution to the energy transition!
sub-xero schrieb:
The usefulness of installing heat pumps in houses without photovoltaic systems is questionable anyway. Sure, basically no one should build without a heat pump nowadays.
But this should be considered independently.
Most of the time, I don’t actually need the heat pump when the sun is shining, because the house gets warm enough from solar gain.
WilderSueden schrieb:
If you have a second meter for the heat pump, it can be turned off during peak load times. In that case, the allowed 3.7 kW would be a significant improvement, giving you a heating capacity of over 10 kW.I only have one meter; everything runs on the household electricity supply.RotorMotor schrieb:
Wow, that’s really great! Unfortunately, I only managed to reach 65%. :-(The storage battery makes a big difference in this case.
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