ewz is constantly optimising public lighting – we want to lower energy use and reduce light emissions. One milestone on this journey has been new, smart street lighting. It operates using motion-dependent control (radar). We have already successfully installed two of these systems.
For more than 100 years, we have also ensured that the 340 public clocks in the city of Zurich are always accurate and running properly. We regularly carry out inspections and maintenance work, and we switch the clocks over to summer and winter time every year. You can notify us of any disruptions here.
Electricity production from solar power plants is not always consistent. And they don’t always produce electricity when we need it most. To better align fluctuating power generation with customer needs, we need powerful energy storage systems.
ewz operates a variety of battery storage systems. In various pilot and demonstration projects, such as ‘WarmUp’, we evaluate the impact of storage on self-consumption, on the stability of our distribution grid, and on the system stability of the swissgrid electricity grid.
Smart meters are special electricity meters with enhanced features. They enable electronic remote reading and can display the current electricity consumption in your home. Smart metering allows you to reduce your energy consumption, and with it your energy costs. By 2027, ewz will complete a comprehensive conversion to smart meters in Swiss households in compliance with a legal requirement set out by the federal government.
For building cooperatives, property managers and municipal buildings, ewz has already implemented smart metering solutions that analyse devices and processes, and enable services such as the billing solution for self-consumption with ewz.solarsplit.
Renewable energies and changing customer needs call for increasingly flexible electricity distribution grids. The new Gridbox measuring instrument could play a central role in helping us meet this challenge. Using measurements that are precise down to the second, the device is designed to intelligently balance dramatic fluctuations in production volumes of renewable energy. ewz is currently testing Gridbox in a pilot project in Zurich-Altstetten – with support from the Swiss Federal Office of Energy.
In the city of Zurich, mobility is also changing to meet the targets of the 2,000-watt society. The vision is city-friendly mobility as outlined in the ‘Urban Transport 2025’ report (in German).
Already, one in four passenger cars in ewz’s own vehicle fleet has an alternative drive system. We also demonstrate our commitment to environmentally friendly mobility by installing and operating public fast-charging stations, and we offer companies smart charging infrastructures for underground garages. That’s because with green power in the tank, electric cars are carbon-neutral, quiet, and much more efficient than cars that run on petrol or diesel.
The smart power grid supports self-consumption and energy storage solutions. Instead of feeding electricity from private solar power systems into the grid and receiving remuneration for it, customers can also use that electricity themselves. We make sure the entire process runs smoothly. And we offer support when it comes to creating a connection for self-consumption or fairly distributing solar power to residents based on their consumption.
ewz offers high security of supply. Power failures for individual customers are rare and never last long. For companies, who require even greater security of supply, we offer a wide range of grid services for a secure, reliable power supply.
Innovations raise the bar and enable more efficient, more environmentally friendly solutions. During construction of the Oerlikon substation, ewz and ABB replaced the insulating gas sulphur hexafluoride with a more climate-friendly gas – a world first in switchgear technology and an important step on the path to a sustainable energy supply. The substation is also Minergie-ECO-certified, and the formerly outdoor structure was moved underground, both of which make it even more innovative and sustainable. If you’d like to learn more, we offer a tour of the substation.
A modern fibre-optic infrastructure is vitally important for the city of Zurich. it strengthens the economy and increases quality of life. That’s why we provide our city with the comprehensive ewz.zürinet fibre-optic network.
We have also offered individual fibre-optic solutions for companies and public institutions for more than 10 years. We connect data centres with company locations and make data highly available.
