Demonstrators will feature in IDLES as verification tools for the programme’s modelling work, as teaching instruments and as a means of communicating more widely about energy systems.

Hitachi-Imperial Digital Energy Demonstrator

As part of the IDLES Programme we have established the Hitachi-Imperial Digital Energy Demonstrator, hosted by the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. This research and teaching facility is a critical part of the IDLES programme grant and will provide researchers and students with state-of-the-art examples of energy network control technologies. Within the programme grant, it will act as a real-time test-bed for the programme results and make the outcomes from IDLES accessible to a broad range of stakeholders through realistic visualisations of the impacts a particular energy system can have.

Wattown

As part of the IDLES outreach programme the Wattown demonstrator has been built by researchers and students of Imperial College. Wattown is an interactive model of energy supply and demand in a town of the near future, showing electricity supply and storage options. It is a great tool to illustrate integration of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, and the installation of new technologies into the national grid for energy storage. The demonstrator has been used at events such as the Great Exhibition Road Festival, Imperial Lates and at outreach activities on campus.