Costain has installed Dynamic Demand, which uses its HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system to provide critical grid balancing services to National Grid.

Costain launched its COdemand venture, which will deliver Demand Response Solutions to its customer base, in Spring 2014. Demand response is defined as any service that allows the demand of energy to be shifted in order to help manage fluctuations in electricity supply and demand on the grid.

The first solution brought to market by COdemand is Dynamic Demand, a unique technology which was developed by Costain's partner Open Energi. The system fine-tunes organisations’ power consumption and provides more flexibility for managing the electricity network.

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The Dynamic Demand system uses a combination of software and metering technology to attach to machinery such as pumps, chillers and air conditioning systems. Operating through a Tridium controller, it adjusts the power consumption of an asset in accordance with changes to grid frequency, effectively turning them into ‘smart assets’.

Power transported by National Grid has to be balanced to within a statutory frequency limit of 49.5 to 50.5 Hertz. If grid frequency drops, additional power needs to be generated which costs money and produces more CO₂.

Working in partnership with Open Energi, Dynamic Demand in Costain House, the Costain HQ in Maidenhead, will be active every day of the year allowing corrective action to be taken in response to changes in grid frequency. One of the main perks is that it creates an additional revenue stream paid by National Grid for adjusting energy demand.

(CD/MH)