Device Registration
Overview
Before a device can participate in FP-AMM, it must first be registered with the market.
Registration creates a digital representation of the physical device, allowing the market to understand its capabilities, operating limits and flexibility.
Rather than treating every electrical load as anonymous demand, FP-AMM coordinates individual energy services provided by registered devices.
This enables the market to schedule flexibility while respecting both customer preferences and the physical characteristics of the device.
Essential Consumption is Not Part of the Market
A fundamental principle of FP-AMM is that essential electricity consumption remains outside the Service Level market.
The purpose of Service Levels is not to ration electricity or reduce the reliability of essential household services.
Instead, they provide a mechanism for coordinating devices that possess intrinsic operational flexibility and whose owners have voluntarily chosen to participate.
Examples of essential consumption include:
- lighting,
- cooking,
- refrigeration,
- medical equipment,
- general household appliances.
These services continue to receive the level of reliability expected from today's electricity system and are supplied independently of the Service Level mechanism.
Service Levels apply only to registered devices whose operation can legitimately be shifted through time without compromising their intended purpose.
Typical examples include:
- electric vehicles,
- household batteries,
- heat pumps,
- hot water storage,
- commercial flexible loads,
- industrial demand response.
For example, an electric vehicle generally requires a specified amount of energy before its next journey rather than immediate charging upon arrival. Similarly, a hot water cylinder often needs to be heated before it is required rather than at a specific instant. These devices possess intrinsic flexibility, making them suitable participants in a continuously coordinated market.
Participation is entirely voluntary.
Customers choose which devices to register, which Service Level to assign, and how much flexibility they wish to make available to the market.
By restricting Service Levels to intrinsically flexible devices, FP-AMM improves renewable utilisation, reduces network congestion and lowers system costs while preserving the reliability of essential electricity services.
Why Register Devices?
Traditional electricity systems observe only aggregate electricity consumption.
A household may consume 10 kW, but the electricity provider has no knowledge of how that demand is composed.
It could represent:
- electric vehicle charging,
- cooking,
- heating,
- lighting,
- battery charging,
- industrial equipment.
Since every load appears identical, the system cannot distinguish between flexible and inflexible demand.
Device registration solves this problem.
Each registered device explicitly communicates the information required for market coordination.
Creating a Digital Representation
Registration creates a digital description of the device.
Rather than representing only electrical demand, the registration captures the operational characteristics that determine how the device can be coordinated.
Typical information includes:
- device type,
- rated power,
- energy capacity,
- operating constraints,
- controllable operating modes,
- communication capability.
This information forms the device's digital representation within the market.
Device-Specific Parameters
Different devices require different information.
For example, an electric vehicle may register:
- battery capacity,
- current state of charge,
- maximum charging power,
- maximum discharge power,
- arrival time,
- departure time,
- required energy before departure.
A household battery may instead specify:
- usable capacity,
- current state of charge,
- charging efficiency,
- discharge efficiency,
- reserve energy requirement.
A heat pump may provide:
- maximum electrical input,
- thermal storage capability,
- acceptable operating temperature range,
- latest completion time for heating.
Each device therefore communicates the flexibility that it is capable of providing.
Operational Constraints
Registration also defines the physical limits within which the market may operate.
Examples include:
- maximum charging or discharge rates,
- minimum and maximum state of charge,
- operating temperature limits,
- cycling constraints,
- manufacturer operating restrictions,
- export limits.
FP-AMM never requests behaviour outside these limits.
Every market decision remains physically feasible for the registered device.
Customer Preferences
Customers remain in complete control of their devices.
Registration allows customers to specify preferences such as:
- preferred charging periods,
- minimum reserve levels,
- target completion times,
- selected Service Level,
- participation in import or export markets.
The market coordinates devices only within these customer-defined preferences.
Registration therefore captures both engineering constraints and customer intent.
Dynamic Operating State
Registration provides a permanent description of the device.
Its operating state, however, changes continuously.
Examples include:
- battery state of charge,
- current availability,
- current operating mode,
- renewable generation forecasts,
- occupancy schedules.
FP-AMM continuously updates this operational information as the market evolves.
Registration therefore defines what the device can do, while the operating state describes what the device is doing right now.
From Devices to Energy Services
Once registered, a device can participate in the market by submitting energy service requests.
Rather than requesting electricity immediately, the device requests the completion of an energy service subject to its registered characteristics.
For example, an electric vehicle may request:
Deliver 30 kWh before 07:00 using up to 7 kW under Service Level Gold.
The market is then free to determine when that service should be delivered while respecting:
- customer preferences,
- physical device constraints,
- network conditions,
- current market prices,
- the selected Service Level.
This shifts the market away from supplying instantaneous electricity demand towards coordinating complete energy services.
Registration Enables Coordination
Device registration transforms passive electricity demand into an active participant in the electricity market.
Each registered device communicates:
- what it is,
- what service it requires,
- how flexible it is,
- what operating constraints must be respected,
- what level of reliability the customer expects.
This information enables FP-AMM to coordinate millions of distributed energy resources while allowing customers to retain complete control over their own devices.
Registration therefore forms the foundation upon which Service Levels, continuous market clearing, distributed price formation and Fair Play coordination are built.