Neueste Meldungen von Diotec

It often happens that solar (or wind) energy is available in high volumes, but electricity demand is low at the same time. In order not to waste that "free" energy, it would be great if flexible electricity consumers – such as washing machines, dishwashers, or even your electric car – would be automatically operated or charged based on energy availability. From 2025 on, electricity suppliers in the EU are obliged to offer flexible tariffs: When power is highly available and therefore cheap, the price per kWh is low – time to switch on the power loads.

Already now, users can check when there is a lot of renewable energy available, and switch on any electricity consumer either manually or even automatically. An app, developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), makes it possible: energy-charts.info. Using an electricity traffic light, the app helps to adjust consumption to the current generation. It uses the share of renewable energies in the electrical load as a basis. When the generated energy is 10% above the consumption, the traffic light will display green. If the current level is 10% below the average, the traffic light will display red.

The app offers an API (Application Programming Interface), allowing smart home applications to automatically switch on power loads when the traffic light is green. Home appliances from big brands are already using that function. The Power MOSFETs DI018N65D1 by Diotec Semiconductor are the perfect load switches for medium-power consumers. Two of them switched anti-serial build an AC switch, capable of power loads up to about 2800 W. The parts come in the space-saving D-PAK and offer 650 V of Drain-Source voltage, suitable for 230~240 V mains applications. On-state resistance is typically 165 mOhm at 10 V Gate voltage.