To achieve these objectives, the project delves into multiple topics, carrying out activities of a supplementary nature compared to the previous three-year period; special attention was paid to integrating the experimental activities and disseminating the results.

Studies on the application of dynamic pricing in the Italian electricity system and designing new roles to promote its flexibility.

This activity started with an analysis of dynamic pricing in the Italian electricity system, and then evolved with the study of the new figure of the aggregator and the functions it can perform in the light of recent legislation – The issue of price signals is studied by applying dynamic pricing schemes (i.e., prices that vary over time according to market conditions or critical management issues in the electricity system), analysing the most significant international experiences and their possible implementation in Italy context and identifying the benefits they would bring both to the end user and to the entire system. Guidelines are developed for defining the figure of the Aggregator. To assess and define the role of the aggregator, the different sectoral realities and their contribution on the topic are examined. Related to this activity is the EU project DYNERGYSTEEL (Integrated DYnamic eNERGY management for Steel production), which promotes the participation of the steel industry in the grid community through the development of methods and tools aimed at optimising the dynamics of electricity market access in the present and future energy scenarios. Great emphasis is also placed on international comparison (benchmarking on regulatory aspects) and the contributions and roles of different industries are investigated.

Tools and Guidelines for End-User Aware Use of Electricity

Aspects of energy consumption are studied that are often not perceived by the user, who consequently has little awareness of the energy-saving potential that could result from changing his or her behaviour. Indeed, the availability of feedback, which “makes energy consumption visible,” is essential to make the user aware and thus enable lifestyle change. In this cotxt, visualization and presentation tools of consumption, which give indications on how to optimise the use of energy use, are essential. Within the project, the most appropriate methods for engaging the Italian consumer are evaluated and household consumption is analysed. Policy monitoring on DSM (Demand Side Managment) is carried out in the EU context and in support of the Italian Regulatory Authority for Electricity and Gas (AEEGSI). There are two European projects linked with this actrivity. They are NATCONSUMERS (NATural Language Energy for Promoting CONSUMER Sustainable Behaviour), which aims to foster dialogue with consumers by designing feedback methodologies to fill the still existing gaps, and S3C (Smart consumer – Smart customer – Smart citizen), which addresses the challenges of end-user involvement in smart grid projects, with the objective of increasing end-user awareness on energy issues and encouraging their active participation in load management and energy efficiency. Also related to this activity is the participation in IEA task 24 (Closing the Loop – Behaviour Change in DSM: From Theory to Practice) which deals with end-user involvement in demand-side management schemes with the aim of fostering end-user’s active participation in load management and energy efficiency.

Studies are also carried out on the role of thermal-electrical loads with regard to flexibility, aimed at developing an analysis of the contribution of synthetic inertia. Thermostatic loads of household refrigerators and electrical appliances for domestic hot water production.

Designing of automation functions and technologies for consumer involvement

Research in this area is aimed at investigating and evaluating ICT automation functions and technologies as well as evolutions related to the rollout of second-generation electronic meters, which amplify the possibility of optimised energy management in order to foster consumer involvement as an active player in the electricity system. Visualisation and control tools capable of managing loads and generators are now moving towards a type of energy management that includes storage, both stationary and mobile, such as electric cars which are intermittently connected to the (private or public). electrical grid. These storage systems make it possible to decouple (within certain limits) consumption and production within utilities and control power exchanges between utilities and the grid. In addition to local optimisation functions, tools are then developed that can simulate the behaviour of a heterogeneous set of customers, which may or may not coexist in a building or energy district.

Technological features and operational information for evolved demand management

Research includes (mainly experimental) activities aimed at making available information and data on photovoltaic generation plants and modules that can help manage demand based on real operating data and operational characterisation of demand. This data supplement the nominal data of the project and are obtained from, e.g., Experimentation at the RSE test facility and at other Research Institutes collaborating with RSE (Enel Green Power, Eurac Bolzano, Supsi Lugano), or experiments carried out in the field on various local generation plants of different size and technology. The analysis is carried out through RSE’s monitoring and evaluation system (pvmonitoring.rse-web.it), which is being enhanced to allow both the analysis of small plants (not equipped with data acquisition systems) and the analysis of the electrical behaviour of plants and their interaction with the grid, especially in the short term. Performance analyses are also carried out, through experimental surveys of short-term energy performance of PV modules in built-in applications in buildings, which also involve an assessment of the influence of particular operating conditions and plant structure on the feed-in of electricity to the grid. The research also provides scientific support to the regulatory aspects of grid connection/interaction and use in buildings, electrical safety aspects of PV modules, and analysis of fire behaviour of PV modules installed on buildings. Fire behaviour is analysed according to new test protocols, their validation and comparison with results derived from current classifications, evaluation of the influence of construction types and degradation types. Research and experimentation of innovative systems for PV inverter control and diagnostics are also carried out – The activity is aimed at realising an inverter that implements a new Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithm and advanced PV string diagnostic functions. Studies and experiments of innovative technologies and materials for flexible-integrated PV are also conducted, deepening the scientific knowledge base (energy bap, morphology, phase diagrams) around a family of chalcogenides, Cu2-M(II)-M(IV)-S4, that are potentially interesting for Thin Film (FS) PV, and verifying the possibility of validating their use in prototype PV devices. The latter aspect, which is extremely interesting for validating/fostering a technology transfer from RSE to national industrial entities interested in the process, is a target of particular interest in the three-year research period.

Study on demand elasticity: user behaviour

The study of user behaviour is aimed at quantifying the impact of user behaviour on consumption for air conditioning as well as assessing the energy savings resulting from deep energy upgrades and/or aimed at transforming existing buildings into buildings that have low energy exchange with the grid. To this end, research will carry out consumption analysis, occupant interviews, building energy simulations taking into account different types of users, etc. This will allow us to identify which are the utility-related parameters that vary with building performance and how they affect consumption. Finally, the actual rebound effect in the case of transformations of existing buildings with low energy exchange with the grid is quantified. Research is also carried out to investigate innovative solutions that may provide the user with greater flexibility through thermal storage for maximising PV use. Thus, methods for forecasting load and electricity production as a function of weather conditions are investigated -based on experimental data and final data correlations to assess the demands and constraints posed by the utility.

Multienergy systems and flexibility

This strand of research aims at investigating the relations between demand management and multienergy systems, understood as a possible source of electrical system support services. Modes of operation of technologies and systems of the multienergy type are analysed, designed and developed with the aim of expanding the current pool of facilities capable of providing flexibility services to the electric grid, with a particular focus on natural gas and heat networks.