^Serve-U

ATB-Becker e.U. green technologies  

BLUESKY Wetteranalysen  

Energieinstitut an der Johannes Kepler Universität 

Fachhochschule Technikum Wien Forschungsbereich Renewable Energy Systems  Innsbrucker Kommunalbetriebe AG  

OurPower.coop - Die Energie Cooperative  

Software Competence Center Hagenberg GmbH  

Sonnenplatz Großschönau GmbH  

Vendevio GmbH  

The use of modern information and communication technologies (ICT) in controlling traditional top-down energy flows are already state-of-the-art as is the decentral energy provision on the basis of renewable energy sources – e.g. through photovoltaics. 

In order to further increase the share of locally produced and consumed energy, the symbiosis of modern ICT with highly automated forecasting models for energy generation and loads is paramount. 

Accordingly, the main focus of the research project Serve-U is the development of a user-centered energy service platform, which enables energy communities to automatically access highly precise prognosis data for load and generation patterns and to identify system-optimized utilization options with economically and ecologically minimal effort. This extends the current state-of-the-art and offers a high scaling potential for future applications. 

Users are actively involved through the provision of these self-learning action recommendations. Furthermore this digital energy service platform entails substantial economies of scale since only existing sensor technology in households (smart meters and inverters) is used. With regards to promoting regional energy supply, Serve-U enables the technology-neutral integration of all energy sources. As photovoltaic contributes a significant quantity in terms of energy production and is highly suited for local energy communities, a particular focus is put on the use of locally generated PV electricity in other applications, such as heating, cooling and transportation as well. Furthermore, the use of inverter and smart meter data provides the necessary basis for realistic simulations and functional validation. 

In addition to these technical aspects of the development of the Serve-U platform, socio-economic aspects and the investigation of adequate incentive structures for users is part of the project. The effects of increasing the share of locally produced and consumed energy on secure network operations as well as the system and data security of the digital interaction platform are also examined and taken into account in the development. This is complemented by a sound analysis of corresponding business models and legal/regulatory frameworks, which are found to play a major role in the practical implementation. 

The developed service concept will be subject to a two-stage function validation to substantiate the research results and developed models. This validation consists of a simulative function and potential estimation and a study in real validation environments. Due to the intended open source character, the results from Serve-U thus form the basis for further research projects as well as for the further development of the concept by relevant stakeholders to market maturity. 

The optimization of system operation requires highly automated generation, load and price forecasts, a corresponding digital service interface for households, as well as a scalable optimization model. Serve-U provides this through an interactive, non-invasive and highly scalable approach. The basic developments and findings from Serve-U thus provide the best possible foundation for optimized design of future energy communities.