Evaluation of the financial benefits of a ground-source heat pump pool with demand side management : Is smart profitable for real estate?

Adoption of various smart control-compatible heating systems is increasing in the heating market. Simultaneously, smart electricity control, often referred to as demand side management (DSM), has raised interest as a core enabler of future sustainable cities. The technological viability of DSM is increasingly researched, but its profitability for real estate has remained unclear. This study examines the economics and environmental implications of DSM by analyzing an energy model using hourly-level energy consumption data in Finland. Accordingly, this study observes new cash flows generated after a daily 2-hour peak shaving of a ground-source heat pump pool in the Helsinki region. Although, DSM decreased the pool's peak electricity consumption, the economic potential of smartness was only 0.03 €/sqm/year, equaling 1% of savings in the energy costs. Furthermore, DSM generated surprisingly low (i.e., 0.02%) reduction in carbon emissions. Despite of the current minor benefits for the real estate owners in the Finnish power market, the end-user smart electricity control likely has a crucial role in the future electricity system with large quantities of intermittent renewable production. Thus, engaging real estate owners in DSM through alternative (monetary) incentives, and other strategic benefits, is essential to support the future energy system decarbonization.