The Estonian electricity market was fully opened in 2013. In an open electricity market, prices are determined for each hour on the basis of supply and demand. The exchange price of electricity is somewhat volatile, swinging from the highest highs to lowest lows within a matter of hours. As the exchange price of electricity is determined one day ahead, we always have a good overview of what is going to happen. The Celeon service has been designed for consumers to get the most out of the hourly price fluctuations on the power exchange by distributing the workload of electrical appliances to avoid over-consumption at peak hours when the price is higher. Automated power exchange price-aware control devices are available, for example, for electric radiators and boilers, and a separate device has also been developed for air-to-air heat pumps.
When it comes to the electricity market, certain regularities stand out. Electricity is much more affordable at night than it is during the day due to differences in consumption or market demand. As a rule, the price starts to increase significantly during the morning hours between 5:00 and 7:00. The same increase also occurs during the evening hours, with a drop in prices occurring between 21:00 and 23:00. Depending on the day, significant changes can sometimes also take place in the middle of the day. To save money, it is essential to schedule electricity consumption to off-peak hours both in the morning and in the evening as well as look for more affordable prices throughout the day. Obviously, we cannot turn off the lights or TV based on hourly price fluctuations, but when it comes to heating appliances, there is some flexibility. Depending on the level of thermal insulation, the heated room or water in the boiler may not cool down too much within a few hours, giving us an opportunity to schedule heating to more affordable hours. Put simply, you should heat the room and the boiler before morning peak hours, choose more affordable hours during the day, and delay heating in the evening. Celeon’s Smart Control algorithm does exactly that.
To find out more about the Smart Control feature, read the article ‘How does Celeon’s Smart Control work?’.
