To achieve these goals, the project explores multiple issues.

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

This activity began with an analysis of dynamic pricing in the Italian electricity system and then evolved into a study of the new role 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), analyzing the main international experiences in the Italian context and determining the benefits they would bring both to the end user and to the system as a whole. Guidelines are drawn up to define the role of the aggregator. In order to assess and define the role of the aggregator, the different sectoral realities and their contribution to the issue 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 dedicated to optimizing the dynamics of electricity market access in the current and future energy scenario. There is also a strong emphasis on international comparison (regulatory benchmarking), and the contributions and roles of different industries are explored.

Tools and guidelines for the conscious use of electricity by end users

The project examines aspects of energy consumption that are often invisible to the user, who therefore has little awareness of the potential energy savings that could result from changing his or her behavior. Indeed, the availability of feedback that “makes energy consumption visible” is essential to raise user awareness and enable lifestyle changes. In this context, tools for visualizing and presenting consumption are essential, as they provide information on how to optimize energy use. The project evaluates the most appropriate methods for involving Italian consumers and analyses household consumption. Policy monitoring on DSM (Demand Side Management) in EU and AEEGSI support is carried out. Two European projects are linked to this activity: NATCONSUMERS (NATural Language Energy for Promoting CONSUMER Sustainable Behaviour) – which aims to promote dialog with consumers by defining feedback methods to fill the gaps that still exist – and S3C (Smart consumer – Smart customer – Smart citizen) – which addresses the challenges of involving end users in “smart grid” projects with the aim of increasing their awareness of energy issues and encouraging their active participation in load management and energy efficiency. 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 the involvement of end users in demand-side management schemes with the aim of promoting their active participation in load management and energy efficiency.

Studies are also carried out on the role of thermal electrical loads on flexibility, with the aim of developing an analysis of the contribution of synthetic inertia, thermostatic loads of the domestic refrigeration type and electrical appliances for domestic hot water production.

Defining automation functions and technologies for consumer engagement

Research in this area aims to study and evaluate ICT automation functions and technologies, as well as developments related to the introduction of second-generation electronic meters, which increase the possibility of optimized energy management to promote the involvement of consumers as active players in the electricity system. Visualization and control tools capable of managing loads and generators are now moving towards energy management that includes storage, both stationary and “mobile” such as electric cars that are intermittently connected to the grid (private or public). Such storage systems make it possible to decouple (within limits) consumption and production within utilities and to control the exchange of energy between these utilities and the grid. In addition to local optimization functions, tools will then be developed that can simulate the behavior of a heterogeneous set of customers that may or may not coexist in a building or energy district.

Technological characterizations and operational information for evolved demand management

The research activity carries out activities, mainly of an experimental nature, aimed at providing information and data on photovoltaic generation plants and modules, functional for a demand management mode, based on real operating data and operational characterization of the same, to complement the nominal project data, such as the experiments carried out at the RSE test facility and at other research institutes collaborating with RSE (Enel Green Power, Eurac Bolzano, Supsi Lugano), as well as in the field, on various local generation plants of different size and technology. The analysis is carried out using RSE’s monitoring and evaluation system (pvmonitoring.rse-web.it), which is being developed to allow the analysis of small plants (not equipped with data acquisition systems) and to analyze the electrical behavior of the plants and their interaction with the grid, especially in the short term. In addition, performance analysis is performed through the experimental study of the short-term energy performance of PV modules in building-integrated applications, evaluating the influence of specific operating conditions and system structure on the electricity delivered to the grid. The research activity will also provide scientific support for the regulatory aspects of grid connection/interaction and use in buildings, the electrical safety aspects of PV modules, and the analysis of the fire behavior of PV modules installed on buildings through new test protocols, validation of these protocols and comparison with results derived from current classifications, evaluation of the influence of construction type and degradation. This includes research and experimentation into innovative systems for PV inverter control and diagnostics. The activity aims to develop an inverter that implements a new MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) algorithm and advanced PV string diagnostics. Studies and experiments on innovative technologies and materials for flexible/integrated PV are also carried out to deepen the scientific knowledge base (energy gap, morphology, phase diagrams) around a family of chalcogenides, Cu2-M(II)-M(IV)-S4, potentially interesting for thin-film PV, and to verify the possibility of validating their use in prototype PV devices. The latter aspect, which is of great interest for validating/promoting technology transfer from RSE to national industrial entities interested in the process, is a target of particular interest during the three-year research period.

Study on demand elasticity: user behavior

The study of user behavior aims, on the one hand, to quantify the impact of user consumption for air conditioning and, on the other hand, to assess the energy savings resulting from deep energy retrofits and/or the transformation of existing buildings into low energy exchange buildings. The research includes consumption analysis, occupant surveys and building energy simulations, taking into account different types of users. This will shed light on which utility-related parameters vary with building performance and how they affect consumption. Finally, it aims to quantify the real rebound effect of transforming existing buildings into low energy exchange buildings. Research is also carried out to investigate innovative solutions that provide the user with greater flexibility through thermal storage, with the aim of maximizing the use of PV. Methods of forecasting load and power generation as a function of weather conditions are investigated, based on experimental data and final data correlations, to assess the needs and constraints of the user.

Multi-energy systems and flexibility

Research in this strand of studies is aimed at investigating the relationship between demand-side management and multi-energy systems, understood as a possible source of support services for the electricity system. The operation of multi-energy technologies and systems is analyzed, designed and developed with the aim of expanding the current pool of systems capable of providing flexibility services to the electricity grid, with particular reference to natural gas and heat networks.