Start of Research in Introduction of DC Technology
January 5, 2016
Modern energy supply at home whenever I want. - Press release of EPM.nl
The sustainability of the built environment gets, after the Paris Agreement, more and more attention. "Enabling technologies" is an important part in this sustainability battle. A new development is the application of DC voltage technology in homes. RWTH Aachen has been conducting 10 years of research into DC (Direct Current) technology at medium voltage levels. This year they started with the FEN project in which the entire campus Melaten was built on DC and monitored by prof. R. de Doncker within a large project from Berlin. The application of DC in high-voltage and medium-voltage begins to increase. The application of low voltage direct current technology is not yet developed in Germany nor in the Netherlands. That may change from January 2016.
Knowledge institutions and companies will be cooperating as of January 2016 in Limburg (Heerlen) on the innovation project 'DC Flex House'. This project will develop, firstly, equipment for electrical installations in homes. This will be tested in the Flex House in the area Wijk van Morgen. Secondly, a method is set up to build this equipment as affordable as possible in existing homes and to place it in one go when renovating the homes. For this purpose, the technology is built into a house in Heerlen district Vrieheide. The renovations carried out in this way will contribute to employment, to sustainable energy use, and improve property values. In this project companies can create new products and installers can set up new divisions on DC.
The special feature of this project is to deploy DC technology in homes. Currently, the electrical system of housing is on AC (Alternate Current). DC technology experiences a strong advance, for example, in phones, televisions, and solar panels. Applied in homes, this technology will provide innovative, smart, sustainable and affordable solutions. After all, renewable energy is in DC. The system controlling the generation, use, and storage of renewable energy in each house, can be brought a significant step further with this technology.
DC Flexhouse is made possible by a grant contribution of the Top Sector Energy and effectuated by the following partners:
NEBER, Heerlen | EPM, Maastricht | Buurtcoöperatie Vrieheide, Heerlen | IBC-Solar, Schinnen | Haagse Hogeschool, Delft | ABB, Ede | Direct Current BV, Aalsmeer | Siemens, Den Haag