What is Smart Street IRM?

What is Smart Street IRM?

The Smart Street system will be rolled out to 180 sites on our network, targeting areas with high uptake of LCTs, such as heat pumps and electric vehicles, particularly where these overlap areas with high levels of fuel poverty. This will bring benefits to approximately 45,000 customers, reducing energy consumption by 5-8% and reducing electricity bills by up to £80 per annum.

In the longer term, this limited rollout will save a massive 144,860 tonnes of carbon between now and 2055, which equates to removing 2,570 cars from our roads every year.

The Smart Street system utilises Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR), which is a proven technology for reducing energy and peak demand implemented by controlling the voltage on a network to the lower end of the optimum range. CVR is used around the world in a variety of different ways.

To summarise, the benefits of the Smart Street system include:

• Reduction of customer-metered energy consumption by 5-8%, without the need for customers to modify their behaviour, equivalent to £80 per customer, per annum.
• Reduction of energy consumed within the distribution system by up to 13%, these “technical losses” naturally occur as a result of the distribution of electricity.
• Carbon saving of 144,860tCO₂e between now and 2055 for GB – the reduction in energy consumption means there will be less energy generated from fossil fuels.
• Improved network voltage control and the ability to release network capacity for the connection of LCTs without disruptive network reinforcement.

The Smart Street IRM will deliver:

• 180 ground mounted distribution transformers fitted with an On Load Tap Changer (OLTC). This will allow ENWL to actively control the voltage on our LV network, which supplies every domestic property in our region.
• New LV switching devices will be added to the network to allow the OLTC transformers to be “meshed” into the network at different times of day to maximise the benefits obtainable. Meshing can be used to share power between adjacent circuits to help alleviate capacity issues and manage voltage levels.
• The above equipment will be integrated to the network using optimisation software developed on the project and implemented into ENWL’s Network Management System (NMS) to take real-time control of these assets. The optimisation software will regularly asses and adjust the operation of the network for the continuous maximisation of benefits for our customers.

Find out more about the Smart Street IRM by visiting our videos library and our Smart Street trials page.