Author: Michelle Hampson | IEEE Spectrum | 29 JAN 2023
Water heaters, according to new research, are looking like more than just water heaters in the modern, renewably powered home. They could, in fact, be something closer to a battery.
The concept is simple but effective—when energy supply is high, it can be stored as heat in the water, and homeowners can reduce their subsequent water-heating demands. This reduced demand is the same (from the perspective of the electricity grid) as excess energy being sold back to it. In a study published earlier this month in IEEE Open Access Journal of Power and Energy, researchers found that water heaters offer an overall more cost-efficient way to store energy when compared with batteries.
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