How the Humble Home Water Heater Could Play a Big Role in Energy Storage

Route Fifty: In the largest pilot study of its kind to date, more than 270 households in the Pacific Northwest volunteered their hot water heaters over the past year to be used as a battery for the power grid. Participants installed plug-in devices that allowed their water heaters to be controlled remotely, both starting and stopping the heating of water when ordered to by the grid operator.

According to a report on the joint program between Portland General Electric and the Bonneville Power Administration, the success of the pilot study has national implications.

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