What the frequency market is and why you should take part
What, why and how?
Every second, the electricity grid has to keep supply and demand in perfect balance: only then does the frequency hold at a steady 50 hertz. The frequency market is where that balance is bought and sold. With a Volton smart plug on your water boiler, or a home battery, you can be paid to help hold it, without lifting a finger.
When a large plant trips or the wind suddenly drops, the frequency dips; when there is too much generation, it rises. To correct these swings within seconds, the transmission system operators (Elering in Estonia, AST in Latvia, Litgrid in Lithuania and Fingrid in Finland) buy fast, controllable power called reserves. The marketplace where they buy it is the frequency market, also called the balancing market.
How do you earn on the frequency market?
The frequency market has historically belonged to the big producers: power plants, utility-scale solar and wind parks, industrial batteries. The smallest bid is 1 megawatt, and every asset must clear the operator’s strict prequalification — an ordinary home simply has no way into this market on its own. With Volton it does.
An aggregator pools thousands of small devices (home batteries, boilers, EV chargers, heat pumps) into one virtual power plant. Together they easily clear the minimum bid size and meet the operator’s technical requirements.
Volton is your aggregator — the one that takes your home devices to the big market. Taking part is entirely automatic: the bidding, the prequalification and the settlement are all Volton’s job. You simply enjoy the income.
1 MWSmallest bid the market accepts
- Your home battery · ~10 kW
- ≈ 100 batteries pooled
The market’s smallest bid is 1 MW. A home battery is about 10 kW, and a Volton smart plug makes even a single ~1 kW boiler count. Pooled together, roughly 100 batteries or a thousand boilers clear the bar as one.
The Volton devices that open the market to you
You don’t even need a battery. Volton’s Smart Plug and its relays, EMS-Hub and IR controller connect an everyday load, like a water boiler, EV charger or heat pump, and offer its flexibility to the frequency market. A home battery is simply the most powerful option.
What Volton’s automation actually does
Every Volton device runs on autopilot. The automation knows tomorrow’s exchange prices in advance and schedules your boiler, charger or battery into the cheapest hours. You see exactly when and why it switched, and you can take over manually at any time.
The frequency market is the layer on top. Between those scheduled runs the same devices stand ready as reserve — and you are paid simply for standing ready, even if nothing ever happens. When the grid does need help, they flex for 15 minutes or more and you earn for that separately. The result: a smaller bill from smart timing, plus reserve income, from the same devices at the same time.
What you need to join
- A flexible load with a Volton device on it (a Smart Plug on a boiler or EV charger, a relay or EMS-Hub on your heating), or a home battery. This is what provides the reserve.
- An aggregation agreement with Volton, signed online in minutes with your eID (Smart-ID, Mobiil-ID or ID-card).
- That’s it: no rewiring, no new meters, no effort. Day to day you will most likely not notice a thing.
Common questions
- Can a private individual really take part in the frequency market?
- Yes. On your own you can’t, because the bids are too big and the technical bar too high. Through Volton’s aggregation your device joins a pool that qualifies, and you’re paid your share.
- Will this wear out my battery?
- Frequency response uses short, shallow charge and discharge cycles, and only the capacity you’re not using. It’s gentle, and staying within the manufacturer’s limits is built into how Volton dispatches your battery.
- Do I have to do anything day to day?
- No. Once the agreement is signed, everything runs automatically. Your devices keep serving your home first; the market activity happens in the background.
- Where is this available?
- Volton operates across the Baltic and Nordic reserve markets. Availability depends on your grid region and your devices; the sign-up flow checks your eligibility.
Make your smart device earn you money
Sign the aggregation agreement online with your eID, and Volton takes care of the rest.