“Accelerating Integrated Energy Solutions” – this is the motto under which cross-industry solutions for a 24/7 renewable energy supply in the electricity, heating and transport sectors will be in focus at The smarter E Europe trade fair this week from 19 to 21 June 2024.
Europe’s Largest Alliance of Exhibitions for the Energy Industry brings together the four trade fairs Intersolar Europe, ees Europe, Power2Drive Europe and EM-Power Europe. The event takes place at Messe München. Around 3,000 exhibitors and more than 115,000 visitors from all over the world are expected in 19 exhibition halls and on an open-air site.
Visitors to the trade fair will learn, among other things, how private consumers can become self-sufficient in the areas of electricity, heat and transport in a clever way, and how this creates new business opportunities for installers and system providers. There are around 19.3 million residential buildings in Germany alone. More than half of these will need to be renovated and equipped with photovoltaics (PV) over the next 20 years. However, residential buildings also play a central role in solar expansion throughout Europe.
Another topic is the increasing electrification of transport and heating and the use of solar power. In addition to supplying homes and flats, this can be used for the growing fleet of electric cars, for example. In the home system, battery electric vehicles can be charged cost-effectively and climate-neutrally with the solar power generated. Heat pumps can also be operated with the self-generated PV electricity. In Germany, 51 per cent more heat pumps were sold last year than in the previous year. With the adoption of the EU Heat Pump Action Plan, this development is expected to continue dynamically throughout Europe.
With a view to the further transformation of the energy system, the solar industry offers a wide range of components – from PV systems, intelligent wall boxes and smart meters to energy management systems, scalable battery storage systems, multifunctional inverters and heat pumps. However, successfully building a comprehensive energy system requires not only interaction between the individual components, but also smooth cooperation between the electrical trade, plumbing, heating and air conditioning technology (HVAC) and other trades.
In this context, the optimisation of self-consumption and the relief of the grids are also on the agenda. In order to realise a 24/7 renewable energy supply, the electricity system requires a high degree of flexibility. Flexible small-scale consumers with their own home energy systems can make a major contribution to keeping electricity generation and consumption in balance and at the same time optimising their own consumption cost-effectively. Dynamic electricity tariffs are another way of better coordinating supply and demand.
