Ouman, in cooperation with Themo, brings a new flexible supply solution for the energy market to thousands of properties

Ouman and Themo have signed a cooperation agreement to develop flexible supply solutions for the building energy market. As part of the cooperation, the Ouman Ouflex automation system will be integrated with Themo’s smart controller, which enables the use of various large electrical loads in buildings of all sizes.

"As a company specialising in building automation and energy efficiency, we have an important role to play in developing solutions to stabilise frequency deviations in the grid. New fossil-free energy solutions, such as solar and wind energy, present greater instability for the grid and we are working with several energy companies on issues such as demand flexibility for district heating and peak power curtailment. The cooperation with Themo represents a continuation of Ouman’s range of offerings in the market for flexible energy. In the future, we will also be able to offer our customers demand flexibility services for electric heating."

 

Timo Tiainen, Business Director of the Ouman Building Automation Division 

The core innovation of Themo, a Finnish-Estonian cleantech company, is an efficient algorithm for optimising electricity use, which allows smart thermostat-controlled loads, usually underfloor heating loads, to be brought to the demand flexibility market. The advanced cloud solution passed Fingrid’s requirements for a frequency containment reserve for normal operation and disturbances in Finland in spring 2024. 

“In practice, Themo’s smart controller is installed in the property alongside the Ouman Ouflex system. When a frequency deviation is detected in the grid, the signal is transmitted to Themo’s controller, which forwards it to Ouflex. Based on this, the Ouflex system switches the desired load on or off. The solution enables fast and intelligent use of all the resistive power in the building,” says Joonas Rantala, Sales Director at Themo.

The cooperation provides an opportunity to bring Finnish properties into a new era

Ouman is also happy about the strategic cooperation.

“By working together, we are contributing to bringing Finnish properties into a new era. We have previous experience in demand flexibility for district heating, and Themo’s solution now enables integration with the electricity reserve market. Modern Ouman Flexiot building automation systems have been installed in more than 10,000 properties. Thanks to the integration of these and Themo, we can offer thousands of properties the opportunity to join the electricity reserve market,” says Tiainen.

Optiflexiot, Ouman’s newly launched product innovation, is a product developed for the energy optimisation of electrically heated buildings, which controls the electricity consumption on a spot price basis, for example in geothermal locations.