Community power flow control for peak demand reduction and energy cost savings

Abstract

Abstract-The increase in penetration of renewable energy sources, such as solar or wind, and high peak load demand can cause grid network security issues. The incorporation of demand side management and energy storage devices can provide a solution to these problems. This paper presents a community power flow control (PFC) strategy which reduces peak grid demand, and increases self-consumption of renewable energy which produces energy cost savings in smart communities with grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems. The PFC aims to directly control high power consumption appliances and the charge/discharge of a community battery storage using measurement of the instantaneous power demands of the community. Historical data records of the community daily energy consumption and the available renewable energy are taken into account to manage the loads and battery storage. Simulation results show for a community of one hundred houses, with 114 kWp of PV arrays, and a 350kWh battery system that the percentage of the average peak power demand reduction over the year is 32%,whilethePV energy selfconsumption increases by73%. This can produce an annual energy cost saving of up to £1100 when compared to the same community with only PV.Index Terms--Battery energy storage, demand side management, peak demand reduction, power flow control, PV system,

Modeling the Effect of Renewable Energy and Smart Appliances in Energy Reduction of Residential Homes Using GridLab-D

“…This exercise shows that it is possible to preliminarily use GridLab-D in order to model a smart grid and show the benefits of its adoption. We note that our results obtained here are comparable with other studies (i.e., [13]- [14]), which individually look at the use of smart appliances and microgrids with solar capabilities. For example, in [13], a 25.4% reduction in energy use is reported when smart thermostats and appliances are used in residential homes.…”

“…For example, in [13], a 25.4% reduction in energy use is reported when smart thermostats and appliances are used in residential homes. In [14], using microgrid and smart grid technology for the reduction of peak loads, it is shown that an annual resuction of 32% in energy use could be achieved, where community power flow control strategies and consumption of self-generated renewable energy is utilized.…”

The current state of research on energy communities

“…DR programs utilize variable energy prices as an incentive for consumers to enforce the above-described methods. For this to be actually adopted by the consumers the divergence between peak and off-peak price has to be compelling [52].…”