Updates from the pilots: recruitment, registration, audit and installation!

par | Fév 20, 2024

The past year has been a busy one for ECOSERVEIS, as our project partner coordinated all the activities involved in setting up and running the three SENDER pilot projects designed to demonstrate the technology.

Recruitment began in early 2023, and the first units were installed mid-year.

Numerous obstacles were encountered, such as procurement problems, time-consuming commissioning tasks, equipment adaptation, and so on. However, thanks to rapid communication, all the pilots and technology partners were able to resolve them and start testing the SENDER solution in Spain, Austria and Finland.

Updates on the Spanish pilot (in Alginet)

In 2023, engagement activities and social media were set up to encourage people to sign up for the project. Once the audits had been reviewed by our partners, we purchased the equipment and began installing it in homes participating in the SENDER project.

Over the past few months, the Spanish pilot project has undergone a number of changes in order to launch the demonstration phase.

The homes that have signed up to the SENDER project have been audited. These audits, after being analyzed by the technical partners, led to the purchase of specific devices for each household.

The deployment of the devices was coordinated by the pilot project manager, as this installation required the collaboration of an electrician, a commissioner, the user and the technology partner, making the installation a real challenge.

The first test of the SENDER solution was carried out in December 2023 during the ADEE beta test, and everything is now ready to apply the solution in the first households.

Updates on the Austrian pilot (in Weiz)

To recruit new participants, other measures were taken, including social media activities and local media coverage. Following successful registration, participants were asked to provide detailed information about their homes, in order to complete the audits for evaluation.

At the same time, the necessary equipment was obtained and preparations made for the installation of the hot water boilers. Currently, the first installations of the SENDER box and equipment are underway.

Updates on the Finnish pilot (in Tamperee and Espoo)

VTT has gone a long way from where they started setting up the pilot. The past year has been intensive with social media recruitment campaigns, household auditing, pilot device procurements and constant communication with the household participants.

Since October 2023, VTT has been ready to install the devices in homes and to launch the pilot project.

In this context, VTT has been

  • recruiting and contacting households (explaining the context of the project, the importance and possibilities of demand response at household level) in order to increase the number of participating households.
  • auditing registered households to gather information on their socio-economic background, all current appliances to find eligible loads for the project.
  • purchasing equipment for each household based on the audit and HPT analysis. In practice, these devices include smart energy meters for total household consumption and selected individual loads and photovoltaic systems, smart thermostats for underfloor heating, IR controllers for heat pumps and 10 smart boilers from NXTech.
  • installing, commissioning and monitoring the purchased equipment in collaboration with VTT, HPT, NXTech, the housekeeper, electrician and plumber.
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