Energy smart appliances will support the transition to a flexible and low CO2 energy system. They will transform the demand for electricity, by making it more responsive to match the short-term availability of renewable energy. This will empower consumers to actively manage demand and make an important contribution to the UK’s progress towards net zero.

BSI is working to create standards that facilitate the uptake of safe, secure, and interoperable Energy Smart Appliances (ESAs), including electric vehicle (EV) charge points, for the active management of demand on the electricity network, known as Demand Side Response (DSR).

The ESA program, led by BSI, supports these aims while informing a wider policy and standardization approach. The program covers research into smart EV charge point and smart domestic appliance standards convergence, development of standards for ESAs and DSR, and supporting the establishment of a testing and certification regime.

To read more on the topic of electric vehicles, click here.

What is an Energy Smart Appliance?

An Energy Smart Appliance is defined as a communications-enabled device able to respond automatically to price and/or other signals by modulating or shifting its electricity consumption. Services provided to the electricity network through this consumption modulation are known as Demand Side Response (DSR).

Traditionally, electricity is supplied “on demand”, but DSR enables supply and demand to be balanced efficiently for both the network operator and the consumer. ESAs appropriate for DSR typically include higher-load devices with shifting demand requirements such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), cold and wet appliances, battery storage, and electric vehicle (EV) charge points.

There are four policy principles that are critical for effective DSR through smart appliances:

• Grid security: the prevention of outages on the grid caused by erroneous operation of smart appliances

• Cybersecurity: the prevention of unauthorized access to smart appliances by third parties

• Interoperability: the ability of smart appliances to work seamlessly across any DSR service operated by any system player

• Data privacy: the secure storing of data on the device or with any controlling party

BSI has developed two Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) to encourage organizations to uptake safe, secure, and interoperable energy smart appliances.

What is the Role of PAS 1878?

PAS 1878 is a critical component in this because it details the requirements and criteria necessary to make an energy smart appliance compatible with DSR activities.

It specifies requirements and criteria that an electrical appliance needs to meet in order to perform and be classified as an energy smart appliance. It also defines the attributes, functionalities, and performance criteria for an ESA, and specifies how compliance with these can be verified.

Organizations should use PAS 1878 because:

• It provides a specification to manufacturers of ESAs that can be used to certify their products as ESAs, in accordance with certification schemes

• It defines the ecosystem within which an ESA can operate

• It specifies the parameters within which ESAs shall communicate signals to DSR service providers, giving those service providers the information needed to develop the infrastructure to receive and respond to those signals

It also contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 on ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all; Goal 12 on ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns, and Goal 13 on taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

Download PAS 1878 for free today.

What Does PAS 1879 Cover?

PAS 1879 is aimed at those organizations responsible for providing and delivering energy services to domestic (e.g. individual households) or small business (i.e. SME) premises, which are collectively referred to as consumers.

It sets out a common definition of demand-side response (DSR) services for actors operating within the consumer energy supply chain, and recommendations to support the operation of energy smart appliances. The specific appliance categories in scope for domestic DSR service are:

• Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning appliances (HVAC)

• Cold appliances

• Wet appliances

• Battery storage

• Smart EV charge points

• Energy generating appliances

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