Aran Islands

The Aran Islands pilot site is situated on Inis Mór, the largest of the three Aran Islands off Ireland’s west coast, approximately 20 kilometers from Rossaveal in County Galway. The island, home to around 800 residents, is characterized by its remote, rural environment, with tourism and fishing as the main economic activities. The pilot covers 22 buildings, including 16 residential, 2 commercial, and 4 public buildings distributed across the island. At present, the Inis Mór Island pilot site maintains a partially operational smart energy infrastructure. Although the original deployment included 22 buildings, 11 of these – comprising 8 residential and 3 commercial units – have been confirmed as currently active. These buildings are equipped with renewable energy assets such as PV systems, batteries, and, to a limited extent, heat pumps.

A variety of renewable and storage technologies are deployed across the active pilot buildings. The installed solar PV systems total 95.4 kW, supported by 186.5 kWh of battery capacity composed of lithium iron phosphate, sodium-nickel-chloride, and hydrogen-based systems. Two public buildings feature Mitsubishi Electric heat pumps connected to previous control systems, while several other heat pumps remain offline or disconnected from monitoring infrastructure. Although many of these assets were introduced under a prior Horizon 2020 project, they remain operational and form the technical foundation for INTELLIGENT’s current and future activities. The island’s energy pricing mirrors that of the mainland, with residents paying the same tariffs and grid fees regardless of local generation or reliance on the undersea connection.

Several demand response use cases have already been piloted at this site, offering valuable insight into the opportunities and barriers for local energy flexibility. These included a control algorithm for optimising battery use in relation to PV production forecasts and electricity prices, allowing systems to charge during low-cost or high-generation periods and discharge when demand or tariffs were higher. In another use case, residents participated in demand-side management via a mobile app that alerted them to upcoming periods of surplus local generation, prompting the activation of appliances such as water heaters. A third use case focused on the thermal optimisation of heat pumps, using forecast data and thermal models to control their operation while maintaining comfort. These experiences demonstrated the importance of tailoring interventions to user habits, providing training and communication, and accounting for the technical diversity of devices.