Exploring household's flexibility of smart shifting atomic loads to improve power grid operation and cost efficiency

Abstract

This paper explores the possibilities of shifting certain household consumer-based loads in time, to reduce unnecessary load peaks to the grid which again can cause challenges for Distribution System Operators (DSOs). Historical measured data on household consumption and the consumption profile of certain household appliances (dishwashers, washing machines and dryers) that can be shiftable in time are being used in an optimization model to investigate the potential that shifting these loads may have on the overall grid consumption of aggregated groups of households. The results indicate that such a model is a viable approach to effectively lower the peak load with respect to these appliances, even with consumer behavior and the inconvenience to perform these shifts accounted for. However, the contribution of the considered household appliances is arguably modest with respect to the total load of the household.