The landscape of electricity demand is changing. For example, the switch to electric vehicles is gathering pace and this will inevitably lead to an increase in overnight vehicle charging; the period when Economy 7 tariffs dictate the charging of storage heaters.

It is in a DNO’s interest to have as much flexibility as possible in managing peak demand. Connected Response’s technology enables the smart charging of the storage heaters in around 1.5m homes. One of many benefits of the improved heating experience for residents, is that it eliminates the inevitable surge in supplementary heating – fan heaters, panel heaters, oil-filled radiators – in the late afternoon to evening peak time on winter days.

In recent years, DNOs have worked with organisations like Piclo Flex to run flexibility auctions to help manage local network constraints. In Constraint Managed Zones (CMZ), where demand risks outstripping supply, Connected Response’s storage heating technology can give DNOs access to both the flexibility of controllable storage heating and hot water loads, and to delayed restart after power outages.