Using Connected Devices in the Home to Provide Grid Services

As more distributed energy resources are installed, the electric grid needs to become more nimble to support and take advantage of these renewable but intermittent sources of energy.  Many smaller loads could be controlled to provide stability to the grid and allow more clean sources of energy to be added to the grid, but the extent to which specific devices can help the grid is not yet known. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Electric Power Research Institute are characterizing the grid services of five connected devices: PV inverter, electric vehicle charging station, community-scale battery, pool pump, and thermostat.