# How much of ten kilowatt-hours can be dispatched without touching comfort?

ID: dispatch-without-discomfort · question · hypothesis · updated 2026-09-07
Tags: storage, comfort, open problem

The usable share of a node's battery is bounded by the building's own needs, the comfort envelope and the reserve the occupant expects for an outage. The number is unknown.

The federation's promise depends on this ratio. If usable capacity is two kilowatt-hours per node in summer and eight in spring, the service must be described season by season. The answer requires a pilot with real occupants, real weather and a real signal, and the record should include the share of nodes that declined each request.

## Counterargument
The benefit may disappear when tested against a simpler alternative or under adverse operating conditions.

## Next test
Publish a bounded experiment, its baseline, its failure criteria and the observed outcome.

## Sources
- none

## Links
- challenges → storage-as-byproduct
- depends-on → thermal-flexibility