An innovative home energy management system integrates renewable energy, storage, and electric vehicles to reduce energy expenditure by up to 25%.
Within the framework of advancements toward a cleaner and more efficient energy matrix, a recent study has demonstrated that home energy management systems (HEMS), combined with renewable energies and smart storage, can achieve significant savings and greater stability in power grids.
SERC Chile researcher and associate professor at Universidad San Sebastián, Mokhtar Aly Ahmed Mohamed, who led the study “Energy management system for smart homes based on an improved multi-objective differential evolution algorithm considering energy storage, photovoltaic, and electric vehicle systems”, stated that a “home using smart technologies largely depends on battery-based energy storage systems. By optimizing their operation, electricity bills and household peak demand are reduced, as they charge and discharge at the appropriate time. Furthermore, the stability and reliability of smart grids are improved, and pollution and power outages are reduced, alongside enhancing the overall performance of smart home and grid systems,” he adds.
But what do these smart technologies consist of? The proposed model integrates photovoltaic (PV) panels, energy storage systems (ESS), and plug-in electric vehicles (PHEV), automatically managing the purchase, storage, and sale of energy based on market prices. Thanks to the use of a state-of-the-art optimization algorithm (IDE), the system can charge batteries at low cost and discharge energy during peak demand hours, reducing total expenditure and improving efficiency.
“By using an energy storage system and an electric vehicle, electricity from the main grid can be stored at a low price, while electricity for household appliances can be supplied at a high price,” maintained the SERC Chile researcher.
Benefits and challenges of implementing this system
Among the most prominent results, the proposal achieves a 24.6% reduction in energy costs, reduces the peak-to-average ratio (PAR), and practically eliminates solar energy waste, thereby increasing the profitability of renewable generation.
Furthermore, the study projects that this technology could be integrated into smart cities, allowing for energy exchange between homes and neighborhoods, with decentralized control that increases the resilience and sustainability of the power system.
Mokhtar Aly Ahmed Mohamed stated that the average savings Chilean families could achieve by implementing this system depend on multiple factors: “one of them is the solar radiation in each region, the initial investment cost, battery storage capacity, local electricity tariffs, and the regulatory framework of distribution companies.”
Nevertheless, the researcher mentions that, due to a combination of economic, infrastructural, and institutional barriers, families face difficulties in implementing this system in their homes: “High initial costs and limited access to financing make these systems unaffordable for most households, while the region's energy infrastructure and digital networks are still underdeveloped for large-scale integration. Furthermore, regulatory frameworks often lag behind technological advancements, offering few incentives for distributed energy resources.”
“Finally, low public awareness and a lack of technical expertise further slow adoption, creating a cycle in which innovation advances faster than the market and political environment can support,” the academic concluded.
