As mentioned on the 'Model Software Selection', HOMER Pro software was used for energy modelling simulations of Findhorn Ecovillage. The initial analysis was conducted for the current situation (0% adoption rate of EVs) of Findhorn Ecovillage, in order to have an aspect of the KPI and other important rates related to the demand and supply of electricity, before investigating different adoption rates.
In this figure, are displayed the percentages of imports and energy generated from renewables that serve the electric load of Findhorn Ecovillage. As shown, in its current situation the Ecovillage is a net exporter of electricity, covering 54% of its annual energy demands from energy generated locally. The other 46% is imported from the grid, as the local generation is not adequate to complement the demand throughout the year.
To examine more thoroughly the simulation results, further processing was conducted in order to have a clearer aspect on the percentages of: renewable generation output used, surplus sold to the grid and imported energy. These rates are displayed on the doughnut figure below, and are: Grid Imports, Demand met by Generation and Surplus. At this point it is necessary to define the formula used to calculate the last two indexes:
​Demand met by Generation is the fraction of load served by the renewable generation and it is an index of the rate of the total generation utilised by the load.
Surplus is the excessive electricity that is generated at periods that the demand is lower than generation. This excess electricity can either be stored or sold to the grid. Currently in Findhorn Ecovillage surplus is sold back to the grid. Later on this page, in the Energy Storage section, results for the three indexes mentioned above are presented for a 25kW-50kWh REDOX flow battery that the Ecovillage has purchased but it is not operational yet. The graph below, shows the processed results for demand and generation with more detail, using rates for surplus, demand met by generation and surplus for the current situation.
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UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDE
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Glasgow G1 1XQ 
United Kingdom
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