Smart instead of complicated

The intelligent network - the so-called smart grid - is the future, but not the present. For many consumers it is worth the switch yet. The idea sounds good: if solar and wind turbines produce because of the weather conditions too little power to raise utility prices for a short time. This gives consumers an incentive to reduce their electricity consumption, to overcome the bottleneck and the rates have fallen. Customers can save money and utilize their networks, the utility uniform. When demand is high they do not have expensive peak-load power to buy more and take in an excess supply of electricity from wind turbines is no power. So far at least, the theory of the so-called smart grid. The requirement for an elegant valve price, however, is in many areas of improved technology - from smart meters to remotely controllable appliances. In practice, the smart grid just before the phase of the pilot projects and PowerPoint presentations behind. The first appliance manufacturer to apply their models even though the label "smart grid ready", but actually done the smart grid is so far. It was not until the end of 2012 should be available to compulsory technical standards for smart grids and meters, such as open interfaces for communication between the systems. Moreover, the problem is not solved, as the customer's data and network operators should be protected (see TR 10/2011). Therefore, utility companies with smart technologies still hold back forever. It exists because of the lack of standards does not "investment security", it says, for example, Vattenfall Europe. Also, consumers are skeptical when it comes to intelligent use of electricity. No wonder: they must first bring the existing services in line - which is anything but easy. To really save money and energy through the smart grid, namely to work together three components: smart meters ("smart meters"), corresponding electrical appliances and a flexible tariff. The most advanced is the development of the meters: In Germany, operators are already committed since early 2010, at the request of the customer to install a smart meter. The European Commission calls for the strategy paper "Smart Grids - from innovation to deployment" that 80 percent of households in Europe by 2020 with a smart meter must be fitted. Without such counters can be flexible rates not settle. In addition, smart meters can also be so beautiful, albeit more indirectly, contribute to energy conservation. They show that is - right on the device, on a separate display or via an online portal - the current electricity consumption in the minute or second. This allows each consumer to monitor his consumption and determine which devices are the biggest energy guzzlers. Fits to come by and by now even home appliances that can work with the smart grid, on the market. Miele has been sold since April 2011, two washing machines and dryers with the "SG ready" logo. At the International Consumer Electronics Fair (IFA) in Berlin in early September came to a dishwasher, refrigerators and freezers are in planning for the coming year. More than 2,000 units were sold by the end of June. Will always work as well as the intelligent power grid later - the devices are to be compatible, Miele insured. "Who is now so in front of a device change, should consider whether he'd rather not already invested into the smart grid," said spokesman Michael Miele Prempert. The competitor Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances (BSH) at the IFA 2011 has indeed introduced a smart grid dish, which comes but until now only in pilot projects to use. The company wants to wait for his own account, pending the uniform standards for equipment manufacturers and energy suppliers. The manufacturer Liebherr presented at the IFA Smart Grid-enabled freezers. They lower their temperature to low-current phases of the set from minus 18 degrees below zero to more to shut down later if necessary in stages can. However, these devices are not commercially available, which are necessary for the intelligent use of accessories are available but only if the energy providers have so far. With the purchase of "SG-ready" device that is done alone, it is not. In addition, customers need it for each device com-munikationsmodul and a central control unit for the whole fleet ("Gateway"). At Miele, about the communication modules are plugged on the back of the devices they replace it on the local power grid by means of so-called "Powerline Communication" data to the gateway. This consists of a small box that is connected to the Internet. So all the smart grid devices can be online at home remotely via a PC or a smartphone. But now, consumers are faced with another hurdle: Even if its networked equipment in this way and has a smart meter in the basement, the technique can not take advantage of flexible electricity tariffs not make sense. The utility companies currently offer but only fixed-term rates and also send any signals to households that tell a rate change. This means that the user must manually program their devices. He does this by computer or phone to the gateway via its user interface and enters the tariffs: From 8 to 16 clock so many cents, 16 to 22 clock so many - and so on. Now the user can still add a time limit: The washing machine is running, for example, only 7-22 clock, so that the neighbors do not get upset. Once programmed, you download his mornings washing machine is full, the unit switches to smart grid, leaving the rest to the software. The switches on the machine if the lowest fare starts. In addition, supplementary rules ensure that the washing machine starts early enough in time to be finished before the deadline. The smart grid, which in its current state does so little more than a timer, its potential uses only when it is flexible rates, which are automatically transferred from the power supplier to the gateway. Miele spokesman Prempert believes that for dryers, dishwashers and washing machines should be possible in this way, annual savings of up to 60 € per unit. At the moment pass by in conjunction with a smart meter, however, offered special fares to customer needs. Or at least, Harald Schäffler of the research group on energy and communication technologies (EnCT) identified in a survey of 1,100 German households. According to the EnCT offer around 100 of the 900 utility companies in Germany, "smart" products. "Most contain a reasonable evening rate, combined with an Internet portal for visualization," says Schaeffler. "It is this collective form meets with clients but comparatively little interest." Much better to come to variations in which a display is placed directly on the counter - to direct users to view their usage and not have to laboriously go online. Also, tariffs, where the power savings will be rewarded with bonus payments would be more in demand than the nightly saving phase. Economically it is not worth saving many alleged charges. So Smart meters cost in addition to a one-time setup fee of about 70 to 100 € a monthly base price of 9 to 15 euros - that must be recouped once again. An example: EnBW offers a smart meter rate at which the kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity costs on weekdays 20-8 and weekends clock around the clock only 21.73 cents, 24.73 cents, but beyond that time. In addition, a basic price of 14.95 euros per month comes. By comparison, the conventional rate "EnBW online" throughout the current cost 22.06 cents per kWh with a monthly fee of 9.98 €. With a consumption of 2800 kWh per year, the average of a two-person household, that implies € 737.44. By contrast, at least supposedly smart price € 787.84 would be due - and even when power would be exclusively related to saving time, which is practically impossible. The customer can lose in this case actually only. More complex models are not the answer. The Stadtwerke Bielefeld divide the day's wage "EnerBest current smart" in six sections, each with different flow rates. But: "Customers such models are far too complicated," says Robert Cholodetzky from sales to the public utility. About 100 households have booked the model - and thus at least save up to 13 percent energy. The tariff is worthwhile because of the relatively high base fees but only for households that consume more than 5,000 kilowatt hours per year, which itself is a four-person household lot. Added to this is: Because the use of smart meters, the GPRS wireless protocol for transmission of consumption data to the utility, it can not be installed anywhere - many basements block the signal. Currently, the municipal utilities are working on an improved system that will also capture the consumption of individual outlets. Nevertheless, the target public utilities with smart metering feeders tend to - households with solar panels - and commercial customers. These examples are not exceptions - Warentest Foundation in March 2011 determined that the rates are on average more expensive than smart green power. That has not changed since. "Currently, smart meters expected only in exceptional cases for private clients," says Ralph Kamp Wirth, spokesman for the green light party look. "For most customers, it would be a losing proposition." Ray of hope therefore offers no time-dependent tariffs and instead prefer paying a bonus for low power consumption. Come to better deals could still take some time. The major power company to test new concepts currently only once extensively in pilot projects before they dare to coverage on the market. RWE model developed in the project E-DeMa - one of six projects of the E-Energy program funded by the federal government - a virtual current marketplace. There, the current price is based on supply and demand from day to day re-defined, then this should be done every quarter hour. Some of the participants are equipped with a smart-grid washing machine that starts automatically to save time. Currently, users need to check here every night but also the rates and enter it manually, because there is no direct communication between smart meters and smart grid gateway. Before the pilot project is interesting for the market, had a higher degree of automation to be achieved, says Andreas Breuer, supervised the project for RWE. "The consumer may suffer with smart grid no loss of comfort. I had no desire to sit down every night to study the rates." So if you want to save money and have an average energy consumption in smart metering should only have to wait for better rates. The smart grid equipment, however, could already be useful if you already need a new device and it speculated that the technology will be in the next five years to the standard. Given the political pressures and the increasing proportion of renewable energy in electricity supply is even likely. However, other manufacturers will follow suit in the coming months and offer other smart grid devices, so the selection is bigger. The best advice seems to know who waits to be smart in fact complicated.

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