The VSK award for energy transition this morning went to Eplucon, a family business from Nunspeet. 'We are an importer of nice stuff like heat pumps, batteries, solar boilers and dispensing. And we put a smart layer over that with our software eControl,' says Hanco Folmer.
'We have now received an award as if we have a novelty, but it has been running for four years,' Hanco begins. Eight years ago his father started the company, and now Hanco and his two brothers are continuing it. 'To solve grid congestion, we have to be much smarter about energy flows.'
A house on 10 amps
By getting all the appliances in the house to communicate with each other, Eplucon can run an entire house on a 1 x 10-amp connection. 'That's also called a lamppost connection.' It goes from the solar panels, the heat pump, the battery to the output as a convector or floor heating, everything is connected. Control is based on information such as the energy price and the weather forecast. If the sun is shining or the energy price is low, the battery is charged. If a lot of power is used, the heat pump scales back. 'A 10-ampere connection is for a well-insulated new home, though. 1 x 35 amp is enough for existing construction.'
The litmus test, of course, is a wintry day, two degrees outside, windless and foggy. And then it's Christmas, too. 'We had that two years ago,' says Hanco. 'Then the battery is fully charged at night, when the price is low. Then during the day you have 10 amps from the connection and 30 amps from the battery. That's sufficient. And if there is really a lot of use, the heat pump is scaled back.'
Seven houses on 3 x 35 amps
Together with the municipality of Nunspeet, Eplucon will now realize seven houses on a standard connection of 3 x 35 amps. This is a slightly heavier house connection, but generally only one house is connected to it. 'So we are connecting seven!' says Hanco proudly. 'That's a small-scale project that the municipality of Nunspeet believes in. We're going to do that!
Also for larger connection
Hanco himself also operates the system, but he has a much larger connection. 'I don't have solar panels either. I have a big battery and I charge it when the electricity price is low or even negative. So you can do that too, and it's really quite advantageous.'
