Flexibility and grid codes
Virtual power plants, peak shaving, demand response, battery storage, frequency response and grid codes.
Grid rules and flexibility markets decide what a site must measure, how fast, and who receives the data.
Start with what a virtual power plant is, then read the rules for your country: G99 in Great Britain or Section 14a in Germany.
Flexibility
11 guides · about 119 minutes
- What is a virtual power plant? How a virtual power plant pools batteries, generators and flexible loads on many sites into one unit, what each grid service measures, and a worked availability example. 11 min
- Peak shaving vs load shifting Peak shaving and load shifting priced for a process load and a battery, with the demand interval, Irish and GB capacity charges, rebound and measurement. 10 min
- EVs as grid assets: V1G, V2G, V2H and V2B Smart charging (V1G), vehicle-to-grid (V2G), vehicle-to-home and building: the power levels, the standards and connection rules each mode needs, a worked headroom example and what a site must measure. 8 min
- OCPP for EV charging networks What OCPP does between chargers and a management system, how 1.6, 2.0.1 and 2.1 differ, how charging profiles combine, and what happens when a limit stops arriving. 10 min
- IoT in demand response: signals, control and verification How a site receives a demand response instruction, changes its load safely and proves what it delivered, and what metering and control each step needs. 11 min
- Demand response baselines and measurement How demand response is measured against a baseline: DFS P376 and self-nominated baselines, capped same-day adjustment, baseline accuracy, and the data that proves a response. 11 min
- Dynamic frequency response services explained How GB Dynamic Containment, Moderation and Regulation differ from static response, and what a battery site must measure, control and record to deliver them. 12 min
- What is FCAS? Australian frequency services and measurement Australia's ten NEM FCAS markets, with the MASS measurement rules, controller settings, sign conventions and a worked droop example for batteries and controllable loads. 15 min
- BESS control: BMS, EMS and PCS explained What the BMS, PCS and EMS each do in a battery energy storage system, who owns each limit, what data to read, and how to integrate a battery with site control and flexibility services. 10 min
- BESS control: verify commands and the asset response How to prove that a battery did what it was asked: each stage from request to metered response, clock synchronisation, a worked 500 kW example, expiry handling and commissioning tests. 11 min
- Local control: interlocks and a failure matrix How to plan local automation on a gateway: who has authority, a failure matrix for lost links, stale data, timeouts and restarts, and the tests to run before control goes live. 10 min
Grid connection rules
5 guides · about 71 minutes
- UK G99 grid connection requirements G99 Issue 2 scope, how Types A to D are assigned, interface protection settings, storage rules, G100 export limits and the records a connection needs. 14 min
- Section 14a EnWG: controllable devices and network charges German Section 14a EnWG: which wallboxes, heat pumps and batteries are in scope, the minimum power during DSO control, the three network-charge modules and the control box interface. 13 min
- Dutch Realtime Interface (RTI) for generation above 1 MW What the Dutch RTI is, which connections need it, what the customer endpoint must do on a setpoint and on a lost link, and how it fits with plant control and site monitoring. 11 min
- Renewable energy grid integration and stability How solar, wind and storage change voltage, frequency and system strength, with GB, Irish and Australian events, worked examples and what to meter at the connection. 19 min
- Microgrid basics: components, operating modes and control How a microgrid islands and reconnects: grid-forming sources, battery reserve, load shedding, island protection, resynchronisation limits and what to measure. 14 min
Calculators
All calculators- Load factor Check how evenly a site uses its peak demand over a billing or reporting period.
- Electricity cost Estimate an electricity bill with energy, demand and fixed charges shown separately.
- Interval demand Turn the energy recorded in one demand interval into average demand in kW.
- EV charging capacity See how many EV chargers a site can run at once, interval by interval, within its import limit.
- Demand response event Measure the reduction delivered in a demand response event, any shortfall, and the rebound afterwards.
- kW to kWh Convert kW to kWh for a running time, or kWh back to average kW, with the cost of running.
- Appliance energy See what a fridge, heater or other appliance uses and costs each year.
- Battery runtime Calculate energy above reserve and runtime, with discharge losses and the inverter power limit.
- Solar PV generation Model monthly solar generation from historical weather and your array layout.
EpiSensor products
Preparing a site for a flexibility service?
Tell System Builder which assets you want to control or measure. It maps them to demand response and metering hardware.