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1. Power grid operators expect their ‘Uber moment’2. European power grid operators gear up for digital transformation3. Ericsson, Panasonic Introduce EaaS Platform for Telecom - Energy Manager Today4. Openergy, la start-up qui allie big data et simulation énergétique temps réel5. Progress on business IoT adoption slower than expected6. SolarCoin showcased as Global Renewable Energy Incentive at Event Horizon7. GRDF - Energycamp #6 – Comment l’IoT et la data permettront-ils de créer de

nouveaux services B2C ?

Power grid operators expect their ‘Ubermoment’Source URL: https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/power-grid-operators-expect-their-uber-moment/TSOs hope the European Commission’s new electricity market design proposals will allowthem to cooperate better across borders and shed more light on future relationshipsbetween market players. [spinster cardigan/Flickr]

Transmission system operators are struggling to fulfill their traditional mission ofmaintaining security of supply in a rapidly evolving environment driven by digitalisation.

The electricity sector knows it is heading towards a digital revolution, but does not knowyet what it will look like.

“The taxi world has changed due to Uber. The hotel business has changed due to Airbnbor Booking.com,” said Ben Voorhorst Vice-Chair of the Board of European Network ofTransmission System Operators (ENTSO-E).

“But what will be the Uber moment for us?” he asked delegates at a conference ofEuropean transmission system operators, held in Bratislava last week (23 September).

Need for balance

The digitalisation of the grid holds the promise of greener electricity generated by amultitude of “energy citizens” equipped with solar panels on their rooftops.

That requires “smart” electricity grids, and keeping the load balanced, which is not aneasy task for transmission system operators (TSOs) who have to take on board thevariable inputs from renewable energies, depending on whether the sun shines or thewind blows.

In Bratislava, TSO representatives shared notes about how to anticipate the knownunknowns. They also voiced their expectations towards the European Commission, whichis set to propose legislation by the end of the year on a new market design for electricity.

TSOs are responsible for transmitting electricity from large generation plants to localdistribution system operators (DSOs). They have to ensure the balance of demand andsupply in the grid at every moment. But that becomes increasingly difficult as more andmore renewable energy sources are being connected to the distribution grid.

Part of the answer lies in digitisation, an issue associated more often with DSOs whodeliver electricity to final consumers and buy back renewable electricity from them –typically generated by solar panels installed on their rooftops.

For the larger TSOs, smart grids means using digital technologies to adjust thefluctuations in power load and keep the system balanced.

But for now, TSOs view this mainly as a challenge to the EU’s flagship Energy Unionpolicy, which aims for affordable, competitive low-carbon energy.

Changing society

According to Juraj Nociar, the Head of Cabinet of Commission Vice-President MarošŠefčovič, the Energy Union’s goals go beyond the decarbonisation agenda.

“We are changing the whole society,” said Nociar, a Slovak, in his opening speech at theBratislava conference. He believes the “rapid digital revolution has created newopportunities no one could have dreamed about before”.

“Could you imagine a car that can program itself to charge its battery according to theweather forecast?” he asked. “If I told you that five years ago, you would tell me I amcrazy and dreaming about something which is really not realistic,” he said.

For Nociar, technology is not the problem anymore. “It’s the question of making itavailable for more or less everyone,” he told a room full of TSO executives.

Digitalisation critical for grid flexibility

Peder Østermark Andreasen, the President of ENTSO-E and CEO of Energinet.dk, seesdigitalisation as an opportunity, too.

“More and more of our resources are producing not according to a schedule, butaccording to weather conditions,” Andreasen told reporters at a press conference.

The share of renewables in the electrical system in some countries can reach up to 80%,he pointed out. “This calls for more flexibility,” he told journalists. “Smart girds and smartmeters, digitalisation of the houses, free flow of data about the current status of thesystem are critically important,” he said.

For TSOs, the “rapid digital revolution” is putting DSOs and consumers at centre stage.

“There could be a good business case for DSOs, for aggregators and for traders toengage themselves in investing on the customer side in the distribution network to unlockthe full potential of active customers supporting the system,” Andreasen argued.

“We can create markets, but we do not participate in these markets.”

“The problem (of digitisation) is primary a question for DSOs,” said Miroslav Stejskal, thechairman of the Slovak TSO Slovenská elektrizačná presonová sústava (SEPS), remindingjournalists that, “The role of the TSOs is energy balancing.”

Division of responsibilities

Actually, the precise role of TSOs in the 21st century electricity system is yet to bedefined.

TSOs hope the European Commission’s new electricity market design proposals will allowthem to cooperate better across borders and shed more light on future relationshipsbetween market players.

According to Kamila Csomai, the CEO of the Hungarian TSO MAVIR, the Commission isexpected to define “the clear roles of responsibility between DSOs and TSOs, so as toensure their efficient cooperation within and across countries”.

Price-sensitive washing machines

Current research shows a more nuanced picture of the future electricity grid.

Mark Van Stiphout, Deputy Head of Unit at the European Commission’s energydirectorate, said the Commission is working on a project to foster TSO cross-bordercooperation in using probabilistic forecasting in order to relieve congestion.

Another project has connected household devices, like washing machines, tied to thelocal grid powered by smaller generation units. They turn themselves on and off according

to price signals.

“The customer just says, for example, ‘I want to have my laundry washed by tomorrow’,”Van Stiphout explained. He hinted that the Commission’s upcoming electricity marketdesign initiative would promote regional cross-border cooperation between TSOs, as wellas dynamic prices based on smart meters and wholesale markets.

“All of this is about making consumers participate more actively in the market,” VanStiphout said.

Grids for citizens

While the traditional models and relationships in the power sector are being shaken up, itis important not to forget the ultimate goal, warned Antonella Battaglini, CEO of theRenewable Grid Initiative.

“We build grids for the future. Actually, it is for the citizens,” she told EurActiv.sk at theconference. “It’s not for the TSOs, the DSOs or the policy-makers. It’s for society as awhole.”

European power grid operators gear upfor digital transformationSource URL: http://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/european-power-grid-operators-gear-up-for-digital-transformation/The next wave of digital innovation – and disruption – in the electricity sector will rely onartificial intelligence and Blockchain technology, according to the new boss of theEuropean power grid operators association, ENTSO-E, who is drafting an IT roadmap forpublication later this year.

Just two weeks after taking on his new role, Laurent Schmitt, the new secretary general ofthe European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E), is already buzzingwith new ideas and projects.

“We are at the beginning of the digital transformation,” the Frenchman told reporters onWednesday (18 January), admitting “nobody knows” yet exactly where the digitalrevolution will take the electricity industry.

And he believes Europe is in a good position to take a leading role in the development ofdigital grids, which are expected to transform the way people consume and, sometimes,also produce and store electricity.

Transmission system operators are struggling to fulfil their traditional mission ofmaintaining security of supply in a rapidly evolving environment driven by digitalisation.

“I think Europe is very advanced in the amount of renewables already connected to thesystem” and has more experience than any other region in the world when it comes tomanaging variable flows of electricity using digital technology, he said.

“The industrial base in Europe is strong and relevant,” said Schmitt who was global smartgrid strategy leader at GE before joining ENTSO-E, citing industry frontrunners such asSweden’s ABB, Germany’s Siemens and France’s Schneider Electric.

However, “the US is three or five years ahead of Europe” when it comes to developingnew business models based on demand response technology, added Schmitt, whoworked on gas turbine control systems for North American markets at Alstom before theFrench company was acquired by GE.

Some of these digital applications will work better if shared across EU countries in theinternal energy market, Schmitt stressed, saying he was “positively surprised” by theappetite for cooperation among European grid operators on IT matters.

“We would like to jointly develop things,” he said, revealing that ENTSO-E was currentlyworking on an IT strategy and roadmap for publication in the second half of 2017,probably as early as July. “This IT roadmap and strategy is built around that notion: Howcan we together be more efficient in building this IT infrastructure.”

“This will be a very important document,” Schmitt insisted, saying ENTSO-E’s role was toassist in areas like harmonisation and sharing industry resources on some ITdevelopments.

Artificial intelligence and Blockchain

Traditionally, the digital dimension of electricity has been associated with smart meters,which allow households to control their energy bill by prioritising consumption whenpower is cheapest, usually at night.

But Schmitt emphasised that digital grids “go beyond smart meters” by adding a layer ofcommunication infrastructure on top of the sensors embedded in people’s homes.

“In the new digital world comes artificial intelligence, big data and all these newtechnologies. And I think there is at least as much hope to gain efficiency with thosetechnologies than with a smart meter,” Schmitt said.

Artificial intelligence can bring huge benefits in terms of the accuracy of energy demandforecasts Schmitt explained, saying it can bring big energy savings on a system-widelevel.

“We’re not against smart meters but they are not the end of the story,” he stressed,explaining that the smart grid is “the brain” behind smart meters – “the calculation, theanalytics that is behind efficient decisions”.

“I’m a true believer in data, and what data can bring for smart grid operation.”

Artificial intelligence, he said, will also help manage data privacy, ensuring only

information approved by individual consumers is passed on to grid operators or otherparties in the electricity value c

Asked by EurActiv.com about the potential of Blockchain, Schmitt cited a pilot project inSouthern France calledNiceGridwhich pioneered peer-to-peer energy exchanges betweensolar PV installations and storage suppliers, allowing to maximise the integration ofintermittent renewable energy into the distribution grid.

“By 2020, more than 50 billion of grid devices integrated through Prosumers andProsumer Virtual Power Plants are expected be connected to each other worldwide,requiring electricity grids to progressively become the foundation of new Digital Systemsof System architectures, composed of ‘Constellations of Prosumer Microgrids’,” Schmittwrote in a blog post on the Peer2Peer energy revolution.

Regional cooperation is key

But for his IT roadmap to succeed, Schmitt will have to overcome more down-to-earthpolitical realities, including fragmentation across national and regional borders.

ENTSO-E represents 42 electricity transmission system operators (TSOs) from 35countries across Europe, with members including the likes of France’s RTE, Britain’sNational Grid and Belgium’s Elia. In a country like Germany, there are four grid operatorsrepresented, reflecting the regional boundaries of the federal state.

This complexity is aggravated by the interface between TSOs, which are in charge of bigpower transmission lines, and the distribution system operators (DSOs) who own the localgrids that reach out to the end consumer.

And this is where politics can get in the way.

“This question of alignment between European and national regulation is very complex tomanage. And simply because there is no alignment on all political aspects acrossEurope,” Schmitt remarked.

And while it isn’t ENTSO-E’s job to deal with political questions, he said it can help “reachconsensus” on rules, standards and harmonisation across borders.

A lot is already underway on cooperation between regional grid operators, said FabienRoques, an associate professor at the University of Paris-Dauphine who co-authored areport on the issue for FTI-Compass Lexecon Energy in December 2016.

This includes regional security coordinators (RSCs) who carry out sensitive tasks such assecurity analysis on behalf of the TSOs, who are both their clients and owners.

However, infrastructure projects “are often slowed down by local opposition whichgenerates delays and additional costs, or even sometimes the cancellation of projects,”the report found, saying governance between RSCs should be improved to ensure greatertransparency.

Schmitt believes however that a collaborative approach will come naturally. Cooperationamong TSOs started with electricity blackouts in 2003 and 2006, which highlighted theneed to import electricity from abroad in case of emergency.

“TSOs have regional cooperation in their DNA, it’s a must. You need to cooperate, there isno border for electrons,” said Susanne Nies, Corporate Affairs Manager at ENTSO-E.

All ENTSO-E members are now obliged to join a regional cooperation centre, all of whichneed to have five common services implemented by end 2018.

Electricity suppliers are increasingly using real-time data to visualise Europe’s energy gridin order to carry out their day-to-day work and it is information that is open toeveryone.EurActiv’s partner Der Tagesspiegel provides an overview.

But this is still considered insufficient by the European Commission. In November, the EUexecutive proposed a new electricity market design, foreseeing more cooperationbetween grid operators in regional operations centres by the end of 2021, under theleadership of ENSTO-E, to develop common rules on cross-border electricity flows.

“We’re now saying, let’s align even more services and have a roadmap to build, say, afurther ten,” Schmitt said.

Background

A European Commission proposal for a new EU electricity market design was unveiled on30 November as part of a Winter Package of Energy Union legislation that promises to putconsumers in the driving seat.

The European Commission promised a “new deal for consumers” saying the new marketdesign would do away with all forms of price regulation. Consumers will be exposed toprice fluctuations, but also empowered to react to them, for example by moderatingconsumption during peak times and buying kilowatt-hours when demand, and prices, arelow.

The goal is to create a market fit for a growing share of power from intermittent renewablesources, chiefly wind and solar.

One area that looks set for rapid growth on the back of these changes is battery storage,which could enable consumers to buy electricity when it is going cheap, and use it laterwhen peak demand pushes prices up. Storage capacity may also come in the guise ofelectric vehicles connected to the grid.

An electricity market revamp could see battery storage go mainstream. But questionsremain over who will put the infrastructure in place.

Ericsson, Panasonic Introduce EaaSPlatform for Telecom - Energy Manager

TodaySource URL: http://www.energymanagertoday.com/ericsson-panasonic-introduce-eaas-platform-for-telecom-0167637/Telecommunications providers – cable operators and wired and wireless companies –generally run a great number of small and often unmanned facilities. Cable headends, celltowers and other facilities collectively use tremendous amounts of power. Equipmentneeds electricity to run, of course. The gear also must be kept at recommendedtemperatures.

Managing these assets can result in greater efficiency and more stable performance.Against that backdrop, Ericsson and Panasonic have announced an energy-as-a-service(EaaS) offering. The companies say the service will “intelligently measure, monitor andmaintain energy infrastructure for mobile operators and tower companies.” It will do this,the release says, through big data analytics, energy management software and lithium-ionbatteries.

The companies say that the platform will reduce total cost of ownership by 20 percent.The gains will be from longer battery life and reduced maintenance calls. It also will resultin more up time for carriers. The platform will be extended to serve the utility andtransport and public safety sectors, the companies say.

At DistribuTECH 20017 last month in San Diego, Blue Pillar introduced the Aurora EnergyNetwork-as-a-Service offering. The goal, the company said, is to simplify access tobehind-the-meter data and control from distributed energy resources. These can be thosethat generate, store, switch, consume or measure energy.

Openergy, la start-up qui allie big data etsimulation énergétique temps réelSource URL: http://www.batiactu.com/edito/openergy-start-up-qui-allie-big-data-et-simulation-48155.phpOpenergy s'adresse à un marché en plein essor : celui de la garantie de performanceénergétique. La solution consiste donc à mettre en parallèle consommations réelles etobjectifs chiffrés, afin de savoir si ces derniers sont atteints ou s'il existe un écart, qu'ils'agira d'expliquer. Riad Ziour, l'un des deux fondateurs de la start-up, nous raconte : "Lasociété existe depuis quatre ans. Elle part du constat que deux mondes coexistent : celuides énergéticiens et thermiciens, d'un côté, et celui des statisticiens et informaticiens del'autre. Les premiers ont une bonne compréhension des phénomènes physiques, tandisque les seconds développent des outils de calcul. Notre plateforme allie les deux, lasimulation, d'habitude utilisée en conception, et l'analyse des données".

La "Virtual Building Platform" a nécessité trois ans de R&D et combine donc des donnéesréelles de consommation et de météorologie afin d'alimenter en direct une modélisationvirtuelle du bâtiment. "Les données d'input sont, au minimum, celles d'un compteur

communicant et de quelques sondes de température. Mais, pour un résultat plus détaillé,il vaut mieux celles d'une GTB (système de gestion technique, Ndlr)", dévoile-t-il. Lasolution Openergy s'adresse donc uniquement au tertiaire et à l'habitat collectif avecchaufferie collective, et pas du tout à la maison individuelle. "Nous sommes sur le mêmesegment que Cofely ou Dalkia, avec qui nous travaillons. Il faut en effet un certain volumed'énergie consommée", précise le dirigeant.

Big data ET temps réel ?Question volume de données en revanche, Riad Ziour nous livre sa réflexion : "Le termemedium data serait peut-être plus approprié que big data, puisque la volumétrie estimportante sans être exceptionnelle comme celle d'un géant comme Amazon. Il fautconsidérer qu'ungros bâtiment de bureaux, comme le nouveau siège de Veolia àAubervilliersgénère 1 million de données par jour, soit 10.000 toutes les 10 minutesenviron". Le recours à des outils existants, développés pour les acteurs du Web ou de lafinance, des secteurs économiques plus en avance que le bâtiment dans la numérisation,permet d'analyser facilement cette quantité de données, même en cas de forte demande(plusieurs milliers de bâtiments). "Elle est gérée en analyse glissante sur des clusters deserveurs. Les volumes sont compris entre quelques gigaoctets et un teraoctet aumaximum par bâtiment. On peut être rapidement 'challengés' au niveau de la montée enpuissance mais les technologies du cloud permettant de faire tourner les calculs sur desserveurs à la demande existent déjà", assure-t-il. Une fois collectées et traitées, cesdonnées alimentent donc la partie simulation énergétique qui, à son tour peut nécessiterun certain temps de calcul.

"Ce n'est évidemment pas du 'temps réel' à la milliseconde, ni même à la seconde. Nousnous adressons à des energy managers, donc l'échelle de temps est plutôt de l'ordre del'heure. Chaque bâtiment peut être soumis à une dizaine de simulations par jour", nousexplique le co-fondateur d'Openergy. Mais la plateforme se révèle capable d'identifierautomatiquement les causes des éventuels écarts relevés entre les consommationsthéoriques et réelles et de distinguer les responsabilités en cas de non-respect d'uncontrat avec garantie de performance. Mais qu'en est-il de la consommation électriquedes data-centers qui seront mobilisés pour résoudre toutes ces simulations numériques ?N'effacera-t-elle pas les bénéfices attendus à l'autre extrémité de la chaîne dans lesbâtiments réels ? "Qu'on se rassure tout de suite : la dépense énergétique pour les calculsest sans commune mesure avec les économies réelles ! Il existe un facteur 1.000 entre cesdeux grandeurs", précise Riad Ziour.

"Le marché de la garantie de performance énergétique est le marché dedemain", Riad Ziour

La plateforme virtuelle a d'ores et déjà été testée par certains grands acteurs commeEngie (d'où sont issus les deux cofondateurs) et EDF sur différents cas concrets pourmieux comprendre le comportement des bâtiments. Puis la partie temps réel a étédéployée chez Veolia, ainsi qu'à Saclay au centre R&D d'EDF. "Immobilière 3F l'a employépour vérifier la performance de logements nouvellement livrés tandis que Cofely l'utilisepour ses contrats de garantie", nous dévoile le dirigeant. L'étape suivante, pour la jeunepousse, sera donc de lever des fonds, afin d'accompagner son développementcommercial et opérationnel. Elle compte également améliorer son interface utilisateur, afinde la rendre plus agréable. Mais Riad Ziour en est certain : "Le marché de la garantie deperformance énergétique est celui où il y a le plus de valeur ; c'est le marché de demain".

La start-up vise 2.500 bâtiments suivis en 2019.

Progress on business IoT adoptionslower than expectedSource URL: http://www.computerweekly.com/news/450413540/Progress-on-business-IoT-adoption-slower-than-expected

The Economist Intelligence Unit last looked at businessIoT adoption in 2013. Its latest business adoption indexshows slow progressThe Internet of things business index 2017: transformation in motion report from theEconomist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has found that many companies have not evolved theirinternet of things (IoT) strategies as far as they had hoped.

Based on a survey of 825 senior business leaders, almost six out of 10 (57%)respondents agree “somewhat” or “strongly” with the statement: “Our progress with theIoT has not happened as fast as we expected.”

When the EIU looked at the state of IoT business adoption in 2013, it found that, onaverage, many worldwide were still in the research stage (at point 4 on a scale of 1 to 10)and were slightly more likely to be using the IoT for internal operations and processesthan in external products or services.

The score for the use of IoT in external products and services has increased from 3.88 in2013 to 4.33. Use of IoT for internal operations rose slightly from 4.25 in 2013 to 4.34 in2016.

The EIU found that North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific have all made some progresson external IoT products and services. However, it found that the North American indexfor internal IoT adoption slipped from 4.00 in 2013 to 3.78 in 2016.

According to the EIU, a fall in oil prices in 2016 may have contributed to less of abusiness need for energy efficiency. Only 1% of North American respondents identify“energy management” as one of the areas where the IoT brought about the greatestpositive change, compared with 16% who expected this to be the case back in 2013.

Asia-Pacific’s score rose fractionally from 4.35 to 4.53, while European businesses hadthe biggest index gain, with internal operations rising from 4.39 in 2013 to 4.64 in 2016.

The EIU found that 45% of businesses rate technology innovation as the most importantfactor behind successful IoT strategies, while 32% put data analytics as the top successcriteria.

The report suggested that companies may find it hard to acquire the right data skills,

since IoT sensor data tends to be stream-based, while data scientists are moreaccustomed to manipulating structured data.

SolarCoin showcased as GlobalRenewable Energy Incentive at EventHorizonSource URL: http://www.electricchain.org/solarcoin-showcased-as-global-renewable-energy-incentive-at-event-horizon/February 20, 2017

ElectriCChain showcases SolarCoin as a Global Renewable EnergyIncentive at Event Horizon, Vienna

The Global Summit on Energy and Blockchain organized through GridSingularity was heldat the Vienna Imperial Palace, the Hofburg.

More than 500 people from 36 countries came together to discuss on how blockchain willenable a revolution in the energy sector.

Speakers included Ed Hesse, CEO GridSingularity; Vitalik Buterin and Dr. Gavin Wood,Ethereum Co-Founders; Christoph Jentzsch, CEO and Founder of Slock.it ; the Ministry ofTransport, Innovation and Technology of Austria ; the Secretary General at the WorldEnergy Council who described blockchain as the missing link in the energy system.

Dr. Herve Touati, managing director at the Rocky Mountain Institute also announcedlaunching the Energy Web Foundation. This non-profit foundation will attempt to be thevehicle for the energy sector to explore the impact of blockchain collectively.

The two days focused on the opportunity of blockchain in the energy sector. But therewas also the chance to discuss the important topic of security as connected devices arepotentially unsecure.

A growing number of use cases and developments across the energy sector wereshowcased including peer-to-peer energy trading, the sharing of connected devices, theuse of SolarCoin as a digital currency to incentivize for energy production and enablelocal markets and facilitating access to energy.

Blockchain is the missing link in the energy system and will reduce energy costs

About ElectriCChain

ElectriCChainis an Andorran Non Profit which aims to accelerate blockchain technology inthe solar photovoltaic industry. ElectriCChain is specifically working towards the

integration of SolarCoin as a Digital Asset designed to incentivize the production ofrenewable energy. Participating in the SolarCoin program can be done online, directly atthe www.solarcoin.org website. More than 250.000MWh of solar energy have beenincentivized through SolarCoin across 27 countries. ElectriCChain also develops solar-blockchain dataloggers for solar installations.

Visit: www.electricchain.org and www.electraseed.com

About SolarCoin

SolarCoinwas developed with blockchain technology to generate an additional reward forsolar power producers. Solar installation owners registered to the SolarCoin networkreceive a SolarCoin for each MWh of solar electricity they produce.

This Digital Asset will allow solar electricity producers to receive an additional reward fortheir contribution to the energy transition, which will develop itself through network effect.

SolarCoin is the world’s largest community-based solar electricity reward program. Itsalternative digital currency may be claimed by individuals with solar-powered homes orcommercial solar electricity producers. The project promotes the use of clean,environmentally sustainable energy, with the eventual goal of shifting the levelized cost ofenergy away from fossil fuels. The project is currently worth more than $6 billion.

The SolarCoin Foundation and related affiliates are acting in the field of BlockchainTechnology and Digital Assets, with the following related internet sites and companiesparticipating: solarcoin.org, solarchange.co, solcrypto.com, electricchain.org, andelectraseed.com

The Mission of the SolarCoin Foundation is to help deliver more Solar Energy globally andinitiate the Energy Transition.

GRDF - Energycamp #6 – Comment l’IoTet la data permettront-ils de créer denouveaux services B2C ?Source URL: https://www.energystream-wavestone.com/2017/02/interview-grdf-energycamp-6-liot-data-permettront-de-creer-de-nouveaux-services-b2c/[…]

Dans le cadre de sa mission de service public, dansquelle mesure GRDF intervient auprès des fabricants dechaudières ?

GRDF apporte sa vision de la maintenance de demain à l’ensemble des fabricantsmais aussi à la filière.

[…] Les chaudières connectées rendent aujourd’hui possible le diagnostic à distance etdemain la maintenance prédictive.

Hier, en cas de panne, le client devait d’abord contacter le service de maintenance. Untechnicien intervenait alors sur place pour établir un diagnostic, en prenant avec luicertaines petites pièces usuelles. Si la panne nécessitait le remplacement d’une pièceplus spécifique ou une intervention plus importante, le chaudiériste devait alorscommander la pièce puis faire intervenir à nouveau un technicien pour réaliser l’opérationde maintenance.

Aujourd’hui, en cas de panne, l’exploitation des données de la chaudière connectéepermet ainsi au SAV une analyse de l’état de l’équipement à distance et une identificationde l’origine de la panne (si le client a donné son aval pour que les données soientdirectement envoyées au SAV). Le SAV peut alors, soit intervenir à distance, soit faireintervenir un technicien, qui ne se déplace ainsi qu’une seule fois. L’analyse préalable dela panne est alors clé pour vérifier la disponibilité des pièces de maintenance. Elle réduitles déplacements du technicien et le temps d’indisponibilité de la chaudière.

Enfin, la transmission de données par la chaudière peut s’avérer précieuse pour étendrela durée de vie de l’appareil, en anticipant la défaillance d’une pièce grâce à lamaintenance prédictive. Avec ces nouvelles solutions connectées, les SAV bénéficierontd’une réduction possible de leurs coûts grâce à une gestion de leur stock et une gestionplus souple des équipes. Côté client, cette anticipation permettra, à terme, de ne plusjamais connaître de panne de chaudière.

Et pour le consommateur, quels sont les apports ?

Pour les consommateurs de gaz, les nouvelles solutions apportent un meilleurconfort et des économies d’énergie. L’utilisation de chaudières intelligentes permet eneffet d’anticiper et de mieux répondre aux besoins énergétiques d’un bâtiment, en sebasant sur la météo, l’inertie thermique du bâtiment, ou encore les habitudes deconsommation des occupants. Par ailleurs, les équipements de nouvelle générationentraînent des économies substantielles pour le consommateur, grâce à la chaudière àcondensation par exemple (30% d’économies d’énergie).

Où en est-on dans la mise en place de ces solutionséconomes et plus propres ?En France, les équipements connectés n’en sont encore qu’à leurs débuts.Alors queprès de 10% des foyers américains sont équipés de solutions connectées, en France cetaux n’est que de 0,3%. Bénéficiant pourtant d’une couverture internet plus dense, leparc français semble propice au développement des solutions connectées.

2017 devrait être l’année des équipements connectés dans le secteur de l’énergie, avecl’arrivée sur le marché de nouvelles chaudières connectées.

On observe deux temps en matière de développement des équipements connectés, quirépondent chacun à un besoin :

La gestion du confort est une première étape. Elle répond à un besoin des clients,de mieux gérer la température au sein du logement. Pour y répondre, les fabricantsont développé des solutions digitales de pilotage, soit en interne, soit en nouant unpartenariat.Les premiers thermostats connectés apparaissent sur le marché français enseptembre 2013 et sont proposés par des acteurs issus du monde del’informatique (ndlr : tels que Google et son Nest par exemple). Ces solutionsentraînent d’une part une véritable rupture technologique et apportent d’autre partune nouvelle expérience à l’utilisateur, liée au pilotage à distance du chauffage.Ce pilotage peut être effectué depuis un smartphone, une tablette ou directementdepuis un ordinateur. Les thermostats connectés sont proposés en versionmonozone ou multizone et s’installent dans le logement aussi facilement que lesthermostats classiques (ndlr : découvrez nos articles sur les thermostatsconnectés).Les chaudiéristes prennent le relais et développent à leur tour des thermostatsconnectés. La connaissance fine de leurs chaudières, de plus en plus modulantes,leur permet de proposer une offre de pilotage de la chaudière encore plus précise.Performants et fiables en régulation, les thermostats connectés des chaudiéristesprolongent la durée de vie des installations de chauffage. Reliés à une chaudière augaz, ces produits se positionnent aujourd’hui à la pointe de la technologie etpermettent d’introduire les solutions gaz naturel dans le monde du smart. Laconnectivité apporte une image moderne, d’avenir, et valorise l’équipement enapportant simplicité, souplesse et confort à l’utilisateur final.L’offre des chaudiéristes se développe à grande vitesse et même si certains ontune légère longueur d’avance dans ce domaine, l’ensemble des acteurs devraientêtre en capacité de proposer ces solutions d’ici la fin de l’année 2017.

La seconde étape est l’optimisation de la maintenance des chaudières, grâce à desréseaux de chaudières connectées. Le besoin pour les chaudiéristes est de pouvoircommuniquer avec leur parc de chaudières, afin d’optimiser leurs processus demaintenance notamment. Là encore, deux stratégies pour la transmission desdonnées : soit le passage par la box internet du client, soit par un partenariat avecun opérateur télécom de l’Internet des Objet (IoT), comme e.l.m. leblanc et Sigfoxont pu le faire.

L’ensemble de ces développements dans le domaine des objets connectés prometune nouvelle ère pour les solutions gaz naturel. Chez GRDF, nous souhaitons êtremoteur dans cette transformation.