Economic Benefits of Direct Current Technology for Private Households and Peer-to-Peer Trading in Germany

Xueying Liu () and Reinhard Madlener
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Xueying Liu: E.ON Energy Research Center, Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN), https://www.fcn.eonerc.rwth-aachen.de

No 7/2021, FCN Working Papers from E.ON Energy Research Center, Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN)

Abstract: With the increased adoption of solar photovoltaics (PV) and batteries, and the use of electronics and appliances powered by direct current (DC), e.g. heat pumps, and electric vehicles (EVs), DC technologies offer higher energy efficiency compared to the entrenched alternating current (AC) technologies. However, the adoption of DC infrastructure is limited due to path dependency and lock-in effects of the currently dominant electric infrastructure based on AC technology. Efficiency gains in energy communities and for households may facilitate the wider-scale adoption of DC technologies. In this study, we simulate 600 household load profiles based on twelve different representative household types and estimate the possible energy cost savings of a DC architecture compared to an AC architecture under various electricity prices and feed-in-tariff levels. This is done for different combinations of battery and PV sizes, and for the case of a peer-to-peer (P2P) trading community. The results show that the DC home yields cost savings of around €90 p.a. for the median household when compared to an AC home. Moreover, we find that neither the share of DC load nor household characteristics impacts cost savings significantly, while the total load remains the most important factor influencing the cost-saving potential. In addition, while cost savings do not necessarily increase with larger PV and battery sizes, they do increase with the possibility of households to engage in P2P trading. The results yield an improved understanding regarding the cost-saving potentials of DC homes and their expected diffusion in Germany. This is especially relevant for future large-scale adoption of solar PV, batteries, and EVs in the future, thus helping both policy-makers and companies alike to better assess the market potential of DC homes.

Keywords: DC technology; Choice of Technology; Diffusion; Industrial policy; Path dependence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O14 O25 O33 O52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 33 pages
Date: 2021-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dcm, nep-ene and nep-reg
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ris:fcnwpa:2021_007

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