The effect of utility time-varying pricing and load control strategies on residential summer peak electricity use: A review

Abstract

/npsi/ctrl?lang=en http://nparc.cisti-icist.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/npsi/ctrl?lang=fr Access and use of this website and the material on it are subject to the Terms and Conditions set forth at http://nparc.cisti-icist.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/npsi/jsp/nparc_cp.jsp?lang=en NRC Publications Archive Archives des publications du CNRCThis publication could be one of several versions: author's original, accepted manuscript or the publisher's version. / La version de cette publication peut être l'une des suivantes : la version prépublication de l'auteur, la version acceptée du manuscrit ou la version de l'éditeur. For the publisher's version, please access the DOI link below./ Pour consulter la version de l'éditeur, utilisez le lien DOI ci-dessous.http://dx.doi.org/10. 1016/j.enpol.2010.01.027 Energy Policy, 38, 7, pp. 3289-3296, 2010-07-01 The effect of utility time-varying pricing and load control strategies on residential summer peak electricity use: a review Newsham, G. R.; Bowker, B. G. (613) 954 3733 guy.newsham@nrc cnrc.gc.ca AbstractPeak demand for electricity in North America is expected to grow, challenging electrical utilities to supply this demand in a cost effective, reliable manner. Therefore, there is growing interest in strategies to reduce peak demand by eliminating electricity use, or shifting it to non peak times. This strategy is commonly called "demand response". In households, common strategies are time varying pricing, which charge more for energy use on peak, or direct load control, which allows utilities to curtail certain loads during high demand periods. We reviewed recent North American studies of these strategies.The data suggest that the most effective strategy is a critical peak price (CPP) program with enabling technology to automatically curtail loads on event days. There is little evidence that this causes substantial hardship for occupants, particularly if they have input into which loads are controlled and how, and have an override option. In such cases, a peak load reduction of at least 30% is a reasonable expectation. It might be possible to attain such load reductions without enabling technology by focusing on 1 household types more likely to respond, and providing them with excellent support. A simple time of use (TOU) program can only expect to realise on peak reductions of 5%.

Information strategies and energy conservation behavior: A meta-analysis of experimental studies from 1975 to 2012

“…Two recent meta-analysis studies found strong effects of price signals on the timing of electricity consumption Newsham and Bowker, 2010), demonstrating that price signals affect behavior. Furthermore, several studies have shown that electricity demand responds to prices, although priceelasticity can be low in the short-term (for an overview see Branch, 1993;Gillingham et al, 2009).…”

The Effect of Household Characteristics on Total and Peak Electricity Use in Summer

“…If a house had a single hour of missing energy data in 2008, this hour was interpolated as the mean of the two hours on either side; if a house had more than a single hour of missing data it was excluded from the analysis (there were 37 of these in the initial sample of 1297). During 2008 Ontario ran its Peaksaver program [OPA, 2010], which provided incentives for householders to allow the utility direct load control over their central air conditioner [Newsham & Bowker, 2010] during 4-hour periods on a limited number of days; there were five Peaksaver events in our study area during summer 2008. We removed any households that were subscribed to the Peaksaver program from the analysis because their Peaksaver response might bias our results (for example, houses with a/c might show lower usage during peak periods than they otherwise would have) 3 .…”

“…Ontario (unlike the rest of Canada, but like most of the US) is summer peaking, and Ontario, like other jurisdictions, has piloted and launched programs aimed at reducing residential load at peak times [Newsham & Bowker, 2010]. Utilities generally want to discourage energy use at peak times to reduce the cost of acquiring peak capacity, and to maintain grid stability.…”

Adjustable Green Defaults Can Help Make Smart Homes More Sustainable

“…However, customers typically have the option to opt out and manually override the default cycling. Newsham and Bowker [22] reviewed six direct load control studies from several coastal and northwest regions of the United States, and concluded that a 30% load reduction could be achieved with minimal occupant discomfort. During direct control periods, indoor temperatures were likely higher than preferred, but occupants appeared to largely accept and tolerate these.…”

“…Interestingly, direct load control programs often involve cycling air conditioning units during periods when cooling is often most needed (i.e., hot afternoons). Hence, it is unclear how willing consumers would be to participate in such a program (or similar programs/technologies) if override capabilities did not exist [22].…”