Claim that it could cut bills and increase use of renewables

In a joint press release, SSE, a UK-based energy company, and Dimplex, an appliance manufacturer, claimed that Quantum, a new smart electric thermal storage (SETS) system they have introduced into the market, offers customers efficiency savings of up to 20%. More significantly, they added that a new report commissioned by them and published by energy consultancy, DNV KEMA, has concluded that the thermal storage technology could play a key role in Europe’s transition to a smarter, low-carbon energy system, by storing up renewable energy when demand is low and supply is high.

According to SSE and Dimplex, the study looked at the potential impact of the new SETS technology on both customers and the energy system, and found that, as well as providing significant comfort and cost benefits to those using storage heating, SETS could provide as much as 54 GW of additional flexible storage capacity across Europe by 2050, potentially saving up to 7.4 TWh of electricity and three mega-tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. The two entities added that this could be increased to 148 GW if all electrically heated homes switched to SETS.

In the light of this, Ian Marchant, Chief Executive of SSE, said: “No matter what the energy supply mix looks like in the future, it is clear that there will be more renewables on the system, which means it will be crucial to find new ways to balance the variability of supply in a smarter electricity grid. This report shows that smart electric thermal storage has huge potential to help in this area, as well as saving people money and giving them much better control over their heating. We’re, therefore, delighted to be bringing it to market for the first time in partnership with Dimplex.”

Stuart Mackenzie, Managing Director of Dimplex, added: “Quantum offers consumers with electric storage heaters the opportunity to reduce their running costs by up to 27%. It’s also a Green Deal-approved measure, so the capital cost outlay can be substantially reduced.”