toronto hydro, ryerson launch pilot project to store energy in pole-mounted compact box - electrical energy storage systems
It says the world's number one, and Toronto Hydro is testing pole positions.
Installation of energy storage equipment that can replenish electricity during peak hours in the home.
In a pilot project, a compact white box larger than a suitcase was installed about six metres above a hydro pole on Kiir Street.
And Sheppard Avenue. W. area.
It is paired with a 50 KW transformer that usually powers about 12 houses.
"It's a lithium-ion battery, like the one in your phone, equivalent to 2,000 cell phone batteries," said Gary Thompson, head of hydro engineering at Toronto . ".
Thompson said that each of these units stores 15 KW of the energy, not to provide a lot of power to power companies, but to support the grid by improving its efficiency.
They were charged during work.
Peak time, about 1 hour. m. or 2 a. m.
When the transformer starts to see the maximum load during peak hours, the storage unit will add some energy, he said.
That means some of the aging assets of Toronto Hydro will not be replaced soon, he said.
Imagine putting a new Tesla car in your house, says Bala Venkatesh, director of the city energy center at Ryerson University, the leader of the project.
When the car is charging, the electricity in your home suddenly needs.
What is this pole?
Installed storage units can store energy when offpeak hours.
Venkatesh said that peak energy demand, such as when Tesla cars and other appliances are plugged in, will be alleviated through the energy storage device.
"The biggest benefit is that you can charge these storage units when you get off work
Peak hours and use them when power is needed for a short period of time, "said Venkatesh.
In order to support the charging of Tesla cars, people may have to upgrade the electrical wiring of the house, he said.
This means that the transformer will have to be upgraded as energy demand increases.
But with these poles
It is possible to avoid installation and storage equipment for electrical system upgrade.
It's easier said than done to replace transformers and power infrastructure, Thompson said.
It involves a lot of planning, resources and engineering design.
One of the criticisms faced by government officials is dumping excess electricity into neighboring countries and provinces.
But if thousands of such storage units are deployed across the province, Venkatesh says, they can store excess energy.
If mass production, the cost of these units is about $20,000.
$30,000 each.
Tori Gass, spokesman for Toronto Hydro, said energy storage is a relatively new technology in the utilities sector. Pole-
Mount energy storage is a new concept for Toronto Hydro to work with its partners, delaying asset replacement and costs by reducing the load on overload transformers, she said.
Early results have demonstrated the ability to reduce strain on local transformers, Gass said.
"We will continue to run the pilot for a while, but there is no definitive end date," she said . ".
If the pilot continues to show positive results, then more of these rods
Top-level systems can be put into use throughout the city, Gass said.
"Toronto Hydro has more than 175,000 poles, each of which can be a candidate," she said . ".
"But there is no clear installation plan yet.
We need to wait for the pilot results.
Venkatesh envisions many of these units in Ontario.
"We have done research on energy storage before," he said . "
"We have worked on a large energy storage device, the size of which is 40-
Foot containers from 2009 to 2016.
So this storage unit is the product of this evolution.