Keele University: paving the way for intelligent energy grid research

Bringing it all together

The Keele University SEND project is the first to bring together key smart technologies in a real-world environment – all controlled from a purpose-built energy control centre. The systems are near completion and are cur- rently undergoing site acceptance testing.

This software solution will give Keele what is effectively a joystick; steering en- ergy production and consumption to deliver on energy security, carbon reduction targets and economic costs and benefits. Keele will be able to set the targets, the system will do the rest – using an ever-growing harvest of data and sophisticated algorithmic analysis.

On the energy supply side is a supervision, control and data acquisition system from Siemens called Spectrum Power 5, monitoring and controlling the high voltage power distribution network and collecting data on power demands. This will com-municate with the other elements of the system to match supply with demand, manage flows to cut carbon emissions, reduce costs and maximise the university’s self-sufficiency. It will also manage power outages with sophisticated fault detection and ‘self-healing’ technology, minimising the impacts.

The demand side will be managed by a decentralised energy management system (DEMS), plugging into a network of thousands of smart meters, the existing building energy management systems and building management sensors in homes and buildings across the campus. These will feed anonymised data on energy use through to the energy centre live 24/7.

The DEMS software will build up a comprehensive picture of energy patterns and usage, helping predict and manage the energy production and user demands. The university has hundreds of pieces of individual plant including heating pumps, air handling unit fans and air conditioning systems which have been wired into the intelligent management system.

Sophisticated building energy management will respond to live changes and plug into other university systems, such as building use scheduling, to maximise efficiency, without anyone noticing any change. This will allow the first practical demonstration of a true multi-energy vector solution.

SEND will help residents to take an active part in managing their energy consumption and generation. They will be able to benefit from home-based information displays and active energy management systems. By opting into interactive functions, customers will be able to monitor their energy, see carbon savings and save money by using energy in times of excess power generation, or reducing energy use when energy is expensive.

This opens up a whole new world of opportunity, including opportunities to integrate SEND with the Internet of Things, to help people cut their energy consumption.

Energy storage and transport

Energy storage capacity is a key element of the story. Keele is investing in a 1 MWh battery. Energy will be stored to balance the energy grid. Other storage solutions are being implemented including, thermal water storage, thermal mass-of-buildings storage and hydrogen storage.

Storage technology is advancing fast and this will, in the future, grow in importance in the SEND landscape. Two of Keele’s largest energy centres are being converted to utilise both electricity and gas boilers to allow the network to make intelligent decisions.