Potential of demand side response aggregation for the stabilization of the grids frequency

Abstract

The role of ancillary services related to the frequency control have become increasingly important in the smart grids. Demand Side Response is a competitive resource that can be used to regulate the grid frequency. This paper describes the use of heat pumps and fridges to provide ancillary services of frequency response so that to continuously balance the supply with demand. The power consumption of domestic units is usually small and, therefore, the aggregation of large numbers of small units should be able to provide sufficient capacity for frequency response. In this research, dynamic frequency control was developed to evaluate the capacity that can be gathered from the aggregation of domestic heat pumps and fridges for frequency response. The potential of frequency response was estimated at a particular time during winter and summer days. We also investigated the relationship between both loads (domestic heat pumps and fridges) to provide Firm Frequency Response service. A case study on the simplified Great Britain power system model was developed. Based on this case study, three scenarios of load combination were simulated according to the availability of the load and considering cost savings. It was demonstrated that the aggregation of heat pumps and fridges offered large power capacity and, therefore, an instantaneous frequency response service was achievable. Finally, the economic benefit of using an aggregated load for Firm Frequency Response service was estimated.