CSIRO is developing a world-first ‘firm’ solar system to reliably reduce the impacts of peak demand by tackling air-conditioner electrical consumption – the primary cause of peak demand on Australian electricity networks.

The project combines CSIRO’s thermally-driven residential desiccant solar cooling technology with a novel solar energy management (SEM) system and natural gas-powered back-up to reduce electrical consumption from the grid with certainty and provide continuous operation of
air-conditioning. Unlike conventional solar air-conditioning, this combined approach allows for 24/7 operation and assists utilities to manage grid load.

A SEM controller will be used to monitor the operation of conventional electrical air-conditioning and utility network requests to reduce load on the electrical network. When requests are made, conventional electricity load will be removed and solar introduced (supported by gas back-up) to provide alternative air-conditioning, through CSIRO’s desiccant solar cooling technology.

The SEM technology will be tested in three residential buildings to verify its ability to address electrical grid issues, and demonstrate its potential to be rapidly adopted by inclusion in solar air-conditioners.

CSIRO: Solar energy management system for utilities (PDF 295KB)