stella-zoë schmidtler
CIRCULAR CITIES CHALLENGE 2023
UP2US: A TOOL FOR SELF BALANCING ENERGY COMMUNITIES
A TOOL FOR SELF-BALANCING ENERGY COMMUNITIES
A challenge in the transition to renewable energy systems is the question of how to deal with the time mismatch between energy consumption and energy production. When energy production is high and no one uses it, we waste renewable energy, and when consumption exceeds production, energy is overused. Normally, this imbalance is compensated by energy storage and the use of non-renewable energy sources.
UP2US aims to address the problem of unused hours at the community level. An installation in public space makes people aware of the Energy Mismatch. Corresponding colours and an accompanying digital interface translate data about the current availability of energy. Communities can independently adapt their behaviour to reduce the pressure on the energy grid during peak hours, working towards a more balanced energy system that can be supported by renewable energy sources.
THE PRODUCT
This piece lights up in different colours and by that serves as an indicator of when to use electricity and when to reduce energy-consumption. The QR-code on the piece links to a website on which the real-time data from the electricity consumption is set into relation to the real-time data of the energy-generation. Because we want it to be a community engaging work in which citizens are getting aware of the "hidden" structures and imbalances of our urban energy-cycles, it will be installed in public spaces. Here, the community can come together to exchange thought and experience with their use of electricity. The piece has the potential to be transformed into a smaller version portable version that might be installed in private areas to also here indicate clearly what times one can use electricity.
THE CONTEXT
We are so used to plugging in our devices whenever we want, that we take constant and non fluctuating energy supply for granted. Yet, renewable energy sources are highly dependend on external influences, such as the weather in the case of solar and wind. In the transition to renewable energy systems, our current approach to instant availability to electricity is fatal: when renewable-source energy is high during sunny or windy hours and no-one uses it, we let it go to waste, whereas when consumption exceeds renewable-sources energy production at night when the sun is gone and winds calmed down, we compensate the gab with non-renewable-sources energy and batteries. In order to fully transition to renewable-energy sources, awareness about the availability and physicality of energy is needed.
THE PROCESS
stella-zoë schmidtler © 2023