Off-Peak Electric Heat Blog

Steffes Heating Systems utilize a technology know as Electric Thermal Storage (ETS). ETS is the technology of converting off-peak electricity to heat and storing this low cost heat for use in satisfying comfort requirements of a home or business 24 hours a day.

Versatility

Steffes electric thermal storage (ETS) systems are the alternative to high electricity bills and inefficient home heating systems. No matter how big the home or how cold the temperature outside: Steffes has the ideal residential ETS heating solution for your needs.

Room Units:

Non-ducted heaters are designed to heat the room or area into which they are placed. Room Units are ideal for new construction applications, retrofits or a supplement to an existing heating system.

Forced Air Furnaces:

Centrally ducted furnace designed to be the main heating system (forced air) for residential or small commercial applications. Can be used as a stand-alone furnace or can be installed with a heat pump for greater efficiency and energy savings.

Hydronic Furnaces:

Whole house furnace ideal for any combination of zoned delivery where water is used to distribute heat via radiant floor systems, baseboard radiation, radiators or even forced air heating with the addition of the Steffes Air Handler.

Environmental Friendly

Today, there is much emphasis being placed on energy efficiency, conservation, and preservation of our environment. Steffes ETS Heating Systems make the most efficient use of power generation, transmission and distribution. These innovative heating products allow for full utilization of power from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. Steffes ETS heating systems are your green heating solution that brings benefit to consumers, power companies and our environment.

Smart Grid Ready

Electric Storage is considered the “holy grail” of the smart grid. Steffes Heating Systems are smart-grid ready and have the ability to respond to real-time pricing, load & demand management, alternative (renewable) energy, frequency control and other signals available from power companies. This allows power companies to better manage their infrastructure and dramatically reduce the peaks and valleys that occur from changes in consumer energy demand. Steffes Heating Systems can affect the grid in the exact same way as a chemical battery at a fraction of the cost.

Home Owner Benefits

Smart homeowners know that a shrewd short-term investment pays off in the future with long-term rewards. Typically, the cost of upgrading to an ETS system pays for itself in 5-years or less. Beyond these impressive savings, a Steffes home heating system also offers you these great benefits:

• Great comfort and reliability

• No routine maintenance

• The ability to customize your system based on your unique needs

• Ability to interface with heat pumps to improve comfort levels and operating efficiencies

• Typically half the up-front cost of a Geothermal Heat Pump system with comparable operating costs.

The Ontario Smart Grid Forum, a group led by the province’s Independent Electricity System Operator, recently released its latest report on smart grid development. The report had detailed suggestions on what steps need to be taken for the enhancement of the smart grid. I, of course, honed in on the discussion of distributed storage. 

“The report also aims to highlight gaps that have emerged and ensure that the province can take full advantage of certain smart grid technologies, such as distributed energy storage.”

The section on storage talks of how electric storage is needed for renewable integration, demand response, system reliability, regulation and deferral of system upgrades.

5) Storage Integration

Low-cost and plentiful energy storage has been called the “holy grail” of the electricity system. Renewable energy facilities (such as wind farms) or nuclear power plants sometimes generate electricity when the province and surrounding markets can’t take it or don’t need it. Energy storage lets us capture that electricity and dispatch it to the grid when we demand it most. Storage can be used to smooth out the often unpredictable fluctuations of solar and wind resources, bringing added stability to the electricity system. It can ease points of congestion in transmission and distribution networks by temporarily absorbing surges and excess power flow, allowing for the deferral of expensive system upgrades. It can regulate voltage levels on the grid to maintain power quality. And, for electricity users, storage can also function as backup power in the event of blackouts. As part of the smart grid, energy storage is a kind of insurance policy – it brings flexibility, reliability and predictability to many aspects of system operation, and as an enabler of renewables can help us become less dependent on fossil fuels and achieve other environmental benefits…

Recommendation:

The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) and Independent Electricity System Operator, in consultation with industry and the Ontario Energy Board (OEB), should jointly develop a framework to promote the integration of distributed energy storage with the grid where it is cost-effective.

Can Steffes Heating Systems be used as an affordable Electric Storage for the Ontario Grid? YES!

Traditional Electric Thermal Storage (ETS) do provide some of the solutions just by storing energy at the right times of the day (off-peak). The new smart controls that Steffes has developed for both space and water heating can affect the grid exactly the same as the batteries, pump hydro, fly wheels, etc. at a fraction of the cost. Steffes Heating Systems with smart controls are already being installed City of Summerside on Prince Edward Island. Over the last 6 years there is over 100 MWh of electric storage installed in the form Steffes ThermElect commercial units in Quebec. In Nova Scotia several thousand Steffes residential ETS systems have installed over the last 14 years.

More information on Steffes smart grid solutions can be found here.

This week we held our North American Sales meeting at the factory in Dickinson, ND. We had sales staff fly in from all corners of North America…Ok, there is only 6 of us:

North East Sales Manager, Dan Gaffney, Bakersfield, VT

Minnesota-Wisconsin Sales Manager, Mark Knutson, Rice Lake, WI

Rocky Mountain Sales Manager, Barry Gooding, Colorado Springs, CO

House Account Sales Manger, Connie Aman, Dickinson, ND

National Sales Manager, Al Takle, Dickinson, ND

Marketing and Sales Coordinator, Lisa Myran, Dickinson, ND

Others that participated in our meetings included, Jim Deichert, ETS Division Manager; Joe Rothschiller, Steffes Corporation President; Tom Steffes and Joe Fude from Product Development; and Julie Scheitlin and DJ Jarrett from Tech Support. 

We had a great meeting that included sales and marketing strategies as well as product review.  We also got the opportunity to tour the manufacturing facilities. These are exiting times, as Steffes is going through historical growth. It was fun to see all of the activity in plant.

With some new strategies and tools to implement and the price of oil over $110, we are very excited for the 2011 heating season.  

I was reading an article today in The News that discussed the rise in sales of Ductless or mini-split Air Conditioning and Heat Pump units. The rise in sales is attributed to several factors. These include:

·        Zone control

·        Low Noise

·        Lower energy costs

I found it interesting in reading the article how the benefits are almost identical to Steffes Room Heating Units. Not only are features very much the same but they also work very well together.  If a home doesn’t have or want ducting and the owner wants to have air conditioning, the mini-split systems are excellent choice. A variable refrigerant flow mini-split heat pump system are very efficient way to heat and cool a home or area.  They challenge in most of the climates where Steffes Heaters are sold is that the mini-split system needs auxiliary heat back up for the coldest days.  Having a Steffes ETS system in conjunction with mini-split system will provide an excellent zonal heating and cooling system.

The Steffes 2100 series room heating units will allow the system to maximize the advantage of the off-peak electric rates and the efficiency of the mini-split heat pump. 

The Whirlpool Corporation, in a recent press release, reported on a survey of consumers on the smart grid. They found that only 43% of the consumer respondents claimed to understand what the smart grid technologies are.  I find it interesting in talking to power plant and grid operators, they will say that the grid is smart and has been for a long time.  It is true that the grid has to be “smart” to have the reliability of power that we find in the North America.

The challenges facing the grid today however require a new level of sophistication. The smart grid needs to be able to efficiently use existing infrastructure and integrate renewable generation resources. To do this the grid needs reliable and verifiable electric storage.  Steffes Space and Water Heating Systems are the lowest cost electric storage options available today. They have the ability to effect the grid the same as an electrochemical battery but at about 5% of the initial investment. 

You can read more about how Steffes Space and Water Heating Systems work with the smart grid here.

In this month’s addition of Colorado Country Life, they have an article on a specialty lumber company that has a unique use for the Steffes ThermElect heating units. Most people think of Steffes Heating Systems as only for space heating.  This article shows that they can also be used for process heating. C.S. Woods in is in Gardner, Colorado.  They are members of San Isabel Electric Association.  Below is a portion of the article:

“In 2009, Mace met with staff from his local electric cooperative, San Isabel Electric Association, to discuss his high electric bills and challenges in getting wood properly dried. The San Isabel staff suggested an unusual application of the energy-saving electric thermal storage program. Eventually, Mace signed on. After much consultation with engineers from Steffes, the manufacturer of the ETS equipment, installation was completed in January 2010 and the first kiln run took place on February 16, 2010.

A large solar kiln was converted to a dehumidification kiln and connected to three customized ETS units. At night, special high-density ceramic bricks in the ETS units store heat using electric energy purchased at a low cost during “off peak” hours. During the day, this stored heat raises the kiln temperature to 140 degrees, causing the lumber to release its moisture.

Most kilns vent the hot moist air outside. In this kiln, however, the hot, moisture-laden air circulates over refrigeration coils. The moisture condenses to liquid and drains away while the hot air continues to circulate inside the kiln. Stepping into this room-size kiln stacked top to bottom with lumber is like entering a sauna. The humidity is 98 percent. It is hard to imagine the wood is being dried.

“I don’t think anyone else in the United States is using ETS in this way,” Mace says of his operation. “It’s phenomenal to have monstrous quantities of inexpensive heat.” The ETS system at C.S. Woods has capacity to store over 1 million Btu (British thermal units) of heat. Mace says his off-peak cost is less than half his normal electric rate.”

Recently Paul Steffes did a webinar presentation on the benefits of Steffes space and water heating with smart controls. You can view this 10 minute presentation here.

His main points are that with smart controls, Electric Thermal Storage (ETS) can adjust to renewable or grid signals by:

• Adjusting storage temperatures up and down
• Adjusting kW input
• While providing comfort assurance to the home owner

With the majority of wind energy being provided in the middle of the night when demand is low, wind generation is being curtailed to stabilize the grid. ETS is the low cost electric storage solution. With an upfront cost of as little as 5% of other options, ETS is the “low hanging fruit” of electric storage.

ETS with smart controls brings value to the grid, and thus help keep rates low by providing:

• Renewable integration
• Regulation (maintaining 60 hz)
• The ability to purchase low cost energy.

For the last several years we have been promoting the concept of wind assisted heating.  The basic premise is that if wind generation is going to be a significant part of kWh production, smart electric storage will be needed. Without the smart electric storage the grid will become unstable or the wind generation will need to be curtailed. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in looking at Electric Energy Storage Options identifies 4 needs, power quality, load shifting, bridging power, and bulk power management. Renewable Energy integration has the need for all of these storage abilities. Steffes Systems have all of these storage abilities.

Traditionally the Steffes Heating Systems have provided load shifting, bridging, and bulk power management. They have done this within a variety of power company off-peak programs.  This will continue to be important as the majority of wind production in North America happens during off-peak times. 

The newest feature of Steffes Systems for space and water heating is variable input.  This ability allows the systems to adjust how much energy is being consumed every 4 seconds or quicker. Because of this the Steffes Systems can adjust in real time to match the variability of the generation and grid needs, providing even more value to the power companies and ultimately their consumers.

While all of this control is good it is the storage component of ETS that allows the consumer to maintain comfort 24/7.

All Steffes off-peak heaters have the built-in technology that allows for automatic remote room temperature set back through any touch tone telephone. With an interfacing telephone transponder, owners can call their Steffes heater(s) through the phone line and command the heater to bring room temperature up or set it back. In reducing room temperature during unoccupied time periods, you can experience energy cost savings. And, to avoid arriving to a cold home, the system allows you to bring the temperature up to your desired occupied comfort level prior to getting there.

With room heating units (2100 series), the transponder provides a dry contact closure that allows direct signal into the heater. The unoccupied room temperature setting is programmed into the heater so when heater is asked to set back, it automatically goes to the set back temperature desired. With whole house systems (4100 and 5100 series furnaces), a corresponding transponder wall thermostat is required. The set back temperature is programmed on the thermostat and the transponder signals the stat to initiate the set back setting.

This technology is used quite frequently in weekend homes and cabins since occupancy in these dwellings is typically so irregular and the phone system gives owners the flexibility to adjust room temperature remotely.

If you are building a new home, the type of ETS heating system you choose to install will depend on other considerations related to comfort and indoor air quality. A big part of your decision may be influenced by how you desire to cool your home during the summer months (if applicable). In some regions or areas, air condition (or cooling) is a requirement whereas in others it is not needed. So, I will answer this question as follows:

If central air conditioning is desired, our basic recommendation is to install the Comfort Plus furnace. This unit provides heat through a central duct system, the same as any furnace system. You can combine it with a central cooling system or an air source heat pump to satisfy air conditioning requirements during the summer. Our favorite option is to use the air source heat pump with Comfort Plus furnace as it not only satisfies cooling requirements, but also greatly boosts heating efficiency.

If central cooling is not needed or if Radiant Hydronic heating is desired in addition to cooling, the Comfort Plus Hydronic (CPH) unit is the best option. Radiant floor heating has great benefits over forced air as related to comfort management and efficiency. While the upfront cost of doing radiant floor heating many times is slightly higher, homeowners love the many benefits related to comfort, cleanliness, quietness, etc. The CPH has the ability to provide both Hydronic and Forced Air heating from the same unit…and yes, you can even interface an air source heat pump or air conditioner. You can even use the CPH to replace an existing boiler you have, whether it is fuel oil, propane or natural gas.

The final point we want to make is that if you are building a new home, don’t skimp on the heating system….do it right!  You may pay a bit more up front but you will be much better off and happier in the long term. If you cut corners, you end up being unhappy and pay for it as long as you live in your new home.