Abstract
This paper proposes and analyses a new demand response technique for renewable energy regulation using smart hot water heaters that forecast water consumption at an individual dwelling level. Distributed thermal energy storage has many advantages, including high overall efficiency, use of existing infrastructure and a distributed nature. In addition, the use of a smart thermostatic controller enables the prediction of required water amounts and keeps temperatures at a level that minimises user discomfort while reacting to variations in the electricity network. Three cases are compared in this paper, normal operation, operation with demand response and operation following the proposed demand response mechanism that uses consumption forecasts. The results show that this technique can produce both up and down regulation, as well as increase water heater efficiency. When controlling water heaters without consumption forecast, the users experience discomfort in the form of hot water shortage, but after the full technique is applied, the shortage level drops to nearly the starting point. The amount of regulation power from a single dwelling is also discussed in this paper.
Highlights
A distinctive characteristic of the electric power sector is that the amount of generated electricity has to be equal to the amount of consumed electricity at every single instance [1]
When controlling water heaters without consumption forecast, the users experience discomfort in the form of hot water shortage, but after the full technique is applied, the shortage level drops to nearly the starting point
The smart hot water heater controller in the proposed system controls the heating element according to the consumption forecasts and the signal sent from the smart grid
Summary
A distinctive characteristic of the electric power sector is that the amount of generated electricity has to be equal to the amount of consumed electricity at every single instance [1]. Energy storage would help the grid to smooth energy transportation, increase electricity throughput to its maximum and increase load factor [14] This would significantly lower the infrastructure costs as the transmission and distribution equipment has to be designed for peak demand, which occurs less than 5% of the time [3]. The focus was to eliminate the imbalance caused by wind power plants, this technique is not limited to solving problems associated with renewable energy generation. It could help in cases of generation faults or it could be used as an ancillary service or by energy traders to profit from the fluctuating real-time price of electricity
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