Heat Pumps to Stabilize the Transmission Power Grid

Industry News – January 10, 2022

The network with its 10,380 km length is controlled from the Control Center in Neuenhagen near Berlin.

In order to further promote the convergence of heat and power and to help the energy transition succeed, Viessmann is expanding its cooperation with transmission system operators (TSOs) and has signed a cooperation agreement with the company 50Hertz.

Thanks to the cooperation with 50Hertz, the pilot project initiated together with TenneT TSO GmbH to use the flexibility potential of heat pumps for congestion management can now be extended to the 50Hertz control area. Viessmann will bundle the flexible capacity of heat pumps in a virtual powerplant and offer it to the two transmission system operators via the Equigy crowd balancing platform for system-serving use.

Viessmann customers can reduce their electricity bill by participating in the pilot project. One of the prerequisites is a special heat pump electricity tariff. For customers participating in the pilot program, Viessmann transmits the operation of the heat pump the next day. 50Hertz checks the grid load and, in the event of congestion the transmission system operator reports its flexibility requirements back. After the signal is received by Viessmann, it is passed on to the participating heat pumps via the company's own energy platform. In the households of the participating customers, the operation of the heat pump is then shifted in an hour.

To ensure that the climate comfort for the residents remains as high as usual, the energy platform takes into account data from the heating system, such as the temperature in the heat storage tank or whether the heat pump has already been heating for some time beforehand. (SP)

More information: Viessmann

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