DETECTIVE – Energy saving through digitalisation Systematic recording and evaluation of the energy saving potential of digital applications in the electricity and heat sector

The smart meter roll-out – at least for the electricity sector - is ready to start. In the next few years, this market launch will create the technical infrastructure for the digitalization of the energy transition, which, in addition to electronic energy billing for electricity and heat, will enable and facilitate the integration of renewable energies, sector coupling and prosumer models.
The digital measurement of energy consumption and other operating parameters also offers the technical opportunity to systematically identify previously hidden energy efficiency and energy saving potentials in a differentiated manner in real time.

The project aims at systematically quantifying the opportunities as well as the risks of the increasing digitalization of the energy system on the side of energy use, e.g. through heating or power consumption monitoring.

It wants to identify possible efficiency potentials and discuss and develop suitable services together with users. Because the question arises under which conditions these data collection and processing operations resulting from smart meter applications in the heat and electricity sector are acceptable and ecologically sensible from the perspective of energy customers. A prerequisite for answering the questions is transparency about which data is measured in which resolution and how this transparency can be created. The central analysis step addresses the question of which data must at least be recorded and processed to what extent and at what level of networking in order to be able to exploit the potential. Based on this, the project team investigates which user groups accept which degree of data processing.

In addition, the energy saving potentials of concrete applications in the electricity and heat sector are evaluated by analysing the technical requirements of digital applications and quantifying the possible potentials. In the next step, the additional power consumption of digital devices and information processing is recorded and compared with the savings potential. This enables a net balance of savings potential on the one hand and additional energy consumption on the other.