Eneres Receives '2026 Demand Side Management Award'—Recognized for Results in Commercializing DR for Heat Sources Using Hybrid Water Heaters with Rinnai
Key facts
- Eneres Receives '2026 Demand Side Management Award'—Recognized for Results in Commercializing DR for Heat Sources Using Hybrid Water Heaters with Rinnai
- Eneres Co., Ltd. received the Director-General's Award from the Heat Pump & Thermal Storage Technology Center of Japan for its joint project with Rinnai Corporation on a DR control system for hybrid water heaters. The project was recognized for establishing a commercial-grade foundation for utilizing water heaters as demand-side response resources.
- Source: PR Times
- Date: June 4, 2026
Direct answer
Eneres Co., Ltd. received the Director-General's Award from the Heat Pump & Thermal Storage Technology Center of Japan for its joint project with Rinnai Corporation on a DR control system for hybrid water heaters. The project was recognized for establishing a commercial-grade foundation for utilizing water heaters as demand-side response resources.
- Citation
- Eneres Receives '2026 Demand Side Management Award'—Recognized for Results in Commercializing DR for Heat Sources Using Hybrid Water Heaters with Rinnai (June 4, 2026), PR Times
- Source
- PR Times
- Date
- June 4, 2026
Eneres Co., Ltd. received the Director-General's Award from the Heat Pump & Thermal Storage Technology Center of Japan for its joint project with Rinnai Corporation on a DR control system for hybrid water heaters. The project was recognized for establishing a commercial-grade foundation for utilizing water heaters as demand-side response resources.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: June 4, 2026 at 20:10
- 🔍 Collected: June 4, 2026 at 11:21
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: June 5, 2026 at 07:52 (20h 31m after Collected)
The "Demand Side Management Awards," organized by the Heat Pump & Thermal Storage Technology Center of Japan under the guidance of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (METI), focus on the "optimization of electricity demand," a key challenge in the shift toward renewable energy. The awards recognize advanced equipment and initiatives that contribute to electricity demand optimization and energy efficiency.
Eneres and Rinnai launched a pilot project in fiscal 2024 to realize "DRready" status—a technical standard for remote DR control—using a network of hybrid water heaters. Focusing on the characteristics of hybrid water heaters, which utilize both gas and electricity, they aimed to leverage these heat sources for both upward and downward demand response (DR).
This development implemented group control logic for multiple hybrid water heaters, including home battery storage units. Rinnai handled the development of hybrid water heaters with advanced communication features, while Eneres focused on the development and operation of the DR control system (DERMS) to aggregate and supply distributed energy resources (DER) to the electricity market.
Key achievements include establishing a control foundation extended from home battery systems to hybrid water heaters, ensuring interoperability (e.g., PV utilization mode), and enabling both "downward DR" (demand reduction) and "upward DR" (demand creation) in the electricity supply-demand market.
This award recognizes that the establishment of a commercial-level control system paves the way for utilizing heat sources for DR, significantly contributing to electricity demand optimization. Moving forward, the companies will continue development aimed at early practical application.
FAQ
What award did Enerise and Rinnai receive?
They received the 'Chairman's Award of the Heat Pump and Thermal Storage Center' for the 'Reiwa 8th Year Demand Side Management Awards'.
What is the overview of the awarded project?
The project involves developing a system and technical infrastructure to remotely control hybrid water heaters via communication networks for optimizing electricity demand (demand response).
What is the significance of using hybrid water heaters in DR (demand response)?
By utilizing hybrid water heaters, which account for about 40% of household heat sources, they are expected to serve as a new 'regulation force' to complement the fluctuating output of renewable energy due to weather conditions.
What are the roles of each company?
Rinnai is responsible for the product development of hybrid water heaters, while Enerise is in charge of developing and operating the demand response control system (DERMS) that integrates and manages distributed energy resources.
What are the key points of the development outcomes?
The project established a control infrastructure equipped with group management functions for hybrid water heaters, capable of responding to both 'downward DR (demand reduction)' and 'upward DR (demand creation)' in the electricity market.