New: Spot Price Optimizer
A trend is emerging: more and more electricity providers are offering tariffs with dynamic hourly electricity prices. With the prices sometimes fluctuating massively. This is where the “Spot Price Optimizer” Function Block comes in very handy, which is being introduced with our brand new Loxone Config Public Beta 13.2. Allowing you to take price fluctuations on the spot market into account in your energy management, and, ultimately, save money.
What is the spot market?
Electricity is traded either on the futures market or the spot market. While long-term contracts with a high level of planning security are concluded on the futures market, the spot market offers electricity that is available at short notice. For example, the electricity produced by wind turbines depends heavily on the weather and is therefore subject to continuous fluctuations. These fluctuations affect the electricity prices on the spot market and lead to dynamic tariffs that offer enormous potential for cost savings when used intelligently.
However, who actually benefits from dynamic electricity tariffs? How can the electricity price development be taken into account in our Config, and what options does the new Function Block offer? Which providers offer dynamic electricity prices? We answer these and many other questions in this blog.
Case Study: EV Charging
Let’s assume that your customer has an electric vehicle but no PV system – and that the vehicle just needs topping up for 2 hours each evening for the daily commute during the week.
If your vehicle is now connected to the Loxone Wallbox after work, around 6 p.m., it will unfortunately probably be charging on the most expensive electricity tariffs for that 12 hours.
The new “Spot Price Optimizer” will help you to avoid this exact scenario. Your vehicle will not start the charging process straight away, but instead the Function Block first determines the two hours with the cheapest electricity prices within the next 12 hours.
Accordingly, the charging process of the vehicle does not start until 2 a.m. for example, as the Spot Price Optimizer determined the 2-4 a.m. window as the times with the lowest electricity prices. Without any loss of comfort and convenience in the charging process, but with enormous cost savings, making the vehicle ready for use the next day, as usual.
Savings:
The vehicle’s battery capacity: 40 kWh
Based on a single-phase 11A car charger, it charges at a rate of 3.7kWh
2 hours of charging at the most expensive electricity tariff (£0.34 pkWh) £2.52
2 hours of charging at the least expensive electricity tariff (£0.18, pkWh): £1.33
Charging the vehicle five times a week equates to a monthly saving of approximately £23.80.
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