Will HEMS be the new router?

This text is adapted from a previous version in Dutch in VV+ trade journal

Keywords: Controls, Smart Buildings

Are you aware of your Wi-Fi router? Even among a readership that is quite tech-conscious like the readers of this magazine, I assume you do not think daily, or even monthly, about the fact that we all now have such an indispensable piece of technology behind our front doors. We only notice it when it stops functioning for a moment. Usually, it is then a matter of resetting it and getting back to streaming, gaming, and -oh yes- remote working. The technology behind the Wi-Fi router was introduced at lightning speed and became indispensable in no time. I predict that the same will happen with a HEMS.

A HEMS? That is short for Home Energy Management System, essentially a home-EMS. The primary focus here is on the four energy-intensive devices that nowadays become more and more familiar behind the front doors of our homes: heat pumps, solar inverters, home batteries, and charging stations. You can consider a HEMS as a conductor that distributes energy to and from these devices, depending on the resident's wishes and taking into account signals from the grid. With a HEMS, even a small-scale grid-connection (residential or SME) can automatically respond to signals from the energy grid, such as price incentives or a signal to reduce or a shift the electricity consumption in time. A HEMS might be hardware, a small box in the home (indeed: next to the router), but also a cloud-based solution is possible. In the Netherlands is currently an industry-standard for HEMS developed. It will be a Netherlands Technical Agreement (NTA); a precursor to a formal standard. This development is commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK), facilitated by NEN, the Royal Netherlands Standardization Institute. This standard might be the blueprint for European standardisation; therefor the link to CEN-CENELEC is eminent.

In this new NTA, a selection is made regarding which existing industry-protocols can be used and which situations must be resolved within a HEMS. Note that the intention is therefore not to develop new protocols. An open source-design is paramount in this regard, with a view to interoperability, to prevent a vendor lock in, which gives the consumer a liberty to choose its provider and brands. This starting point is well in line with the overall vision of the EU on consumer-related regulations. A high degree of cybersecurity is also an important prerequisite for a safe and secure deployment of HEMS in the market.

In a few months there will be much more information to share; then it will be time for a full-size article. For now, just a heads-up so you know what possibilities are coming.

Is a HEMS behind every front door the golden ticket to prevent grid congestion? That is highly doubtful. Nevertheless, all those HEMS’s together could play a serious role as ‘congestion alleviators’, in the terminology of policymakers and grid operators. Quite relevant, therefore, and attractive to the end user. That is why I expect that in about five years, we will encounter a HEMS just as often as we see a Wi-Fi router now.