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https://theconversation.com/using-electric-water-heaters-to-store-renewable-energy-could-do-the-work-of-2-million-home-batteries-and-save-us-billions-204281>
"Australia’s energy transition is well under way. Some 3 million households
have rooftop solar and sales of medium-sized electric cars are surging. But as
we work towards fully electric households powered by renewable energy, have we
overlooked a key enabling technology, the humble electric water heater?
About half of Australian households use electric water heaters, while the rest
use gas. So what’s so great about electric water heaters?
Electric water heaters offer a cheap way to store large amounts of energy, in
the form of hot water. A heater with a 300-litre tank can store about as much
energy as a second-generation Tesla Powerwall – at a fraction of the cost.
Our research at the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures has found Australians
could use household electric water heaters to store as much energy as over 2
million home batteries of that kind. This could eventually save over A$6
billion a year on our energy bills while getting us closer to net-zero carbon
emissions.
Our report, published today and funded by the Australian Renewable Energy
Agency (ARENA), recommends that, to halve emissions by 2030 and reach net zero
by 2050, we urgently need policies to rapidly replace gas water heaters with
“smart” electric water heaters. Smart heaters can be switched on and off in
response to changes in electricity supply and demand across the grid.
This means these heaters can soak up excess “off-peak” renewable energy,
particularly from solar, and so help us solve two key problems at once. They
can help reduce and eventually eliminate greenhouse gas emissions. And they can
make our electricity grid more stable by providing flexible demand that helps
balance out the fluctuating supply from renewable sources."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
