Cocoon
~ Personal Energy Storage System for Alliander~
October 2014
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Cocoon is an energy storage system for residential use. Energy that is generated from solar panels can be stored and can power your home in the evening. This way households can become up to 90% self-suffi cient. Cocoon is a modulair and sustainable system that is automated, compact and plug and play to install.
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PRODUCT DESIGN - CIRCULAR PRODUCT DESIGN - INNOVATION STRATEGY - CAD
DESIGN BRIEF
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As a grid management company Alliander plays an important role in the transition from fossil fuels to sustainable energy. More and more households will generated their own electricity and therefor solutions for residential energy storage are needed. Looking ahead to this development Alliander required a new innovation strategy in order not to become redundant.
THE COCOON
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Cocoon can be placed everywhere in the house due to the plug and play installation. When the sun starts to shine and energy will be generated, Cocoon will store the excess energy. The Cocoon will use the waste heat to open up the cocoon (ventilation) and the color will slowly start to change (awareness). With the app users can track their energy consumption. Feedback and feedforward can be provided to better align energy consumption with the availability of
sustainable energy.
IMPLEMENTATION
Who does it work?
The Cocoon is connected to the power grid via a power plug. Via the build-in router it is connected with the smart meter, smart thermostat and your smartphone. It is modular constructed from battery packs, each with capacity of 2 kWh.
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Sustainable Design
To prolong the life cycle, reuse and remanufacturing processes should be included in the closed loop system. The Cocoon is used in an 'access' business model so that Alliander remains the owner of the products, and thus the materials.
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'Pay-Per-Performance' Business model
A pay-per-performance model fits with the current payment methods for energy, namely pay per kWh. Partnering with energy suppliers will increase market penetration.
Moreover, seamless compatibility with current smart thermostats are available.
THE ART OF BATTERIES
This project was selected for a design competition named “The Art of batteries” that was held among 5 professional design agencies and 20 students from the TU Delft. I got awarded the first price in the category Students and received the audience award. This is the after movie of the design competition.
This is my final Bachelor project in which I implement the knowledge of all previous courses.
Duration
10 weeks, full-time
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