Integrating Air-Source Heat Pumps into the Demand-side Fast Frequency Response Service: A Study Based on Thermal Dynamic Uncertainty

Abstract

Fast frequency response services, designed to quickly balance the electrical grid within seconds, have a critical importance for managing sudden anomalies in low-inertia power systems. Battery systems often serve as versatile prosumers on the demand side to facilitate fast frequency response services. However, the nature of the fast frequency response services leads to a highly fluctuating power profile for batteries, which can shorten their lifetime. In contrast, distributed air-source heat pumps in residential areas have a substantial untapped potential to support fast frequency response services. This paper seeks to integrate them into the existing services through a controller upgrade. We analyze the influence of air-source heat pumps’ inherent complex thermal dynamics on fast frequency response services, revealing control challenges posed by unpredictable operating condition changes. Such a challenge is tackled with a decentralized control strategy based on H∞ and inverse-droop control, guaranteeing practical and stable operations within the permitted operating condition range. Finally, the proposed fast frequency response service scheme is tested through multiphysics simulations on a small-size low-inertia residential microgrid. The obtained results strongly supported the proposed new service.