Residential loads balancing from a single to multiple value pockets optimization

The current electricity market, historically based on large production units like nuclear or gas power plants, is well structured and efficient. The need to reduce greenhouse gas emission is pushing the production form large production unit to smaller decentralized unit line windmill or photovoltaic panels. The control of those smaller unit is more complex to maintain the quality of the electricity (constant voltage and frequency). Also, the emergence of new technologies and the push to all electric appliance is increase our electricity consumption dramatically. In the future world in will be very critical the balance the residential load to avoid peak load and the keep a good electricity quality. To achieve this the consumer will need to improve the flexibility of electricity usage. This flexibility can be induced by more complex tariff. To manage more modern domestic appliances, with those more complex tariff plans, some tools like a HEMS (Home Energy Management System) can support or control the residential loads to guarantee both optimal prices and a reliable, good quality electricity supply. The aim of this research is to understand the benefit that a HEMS tool can generate by balancing the load for a residential consumer in different user cases (tariff types, self-consumption). It is relatively easy to calculate the savings for a tool in a specified user case (1 specific tariff for example); this is called a value pocket. Values stacks refer to the combination of different use cases (combining self-consumption from solar panel with different types of tariffs for example). This study will evaluate the water boiler, the electrical vehicle, a residential battery, and the HVAC as main loads. The main use cases will be solar panel for self-consumption and different types of tariffs (peak/off peak, dynamic, capacitive). The calculation will be done on a 1-year basis considering the seasonal impact in the scope of Belgium. The model will use a simulation tool developed at Engie Laborelec. The study has showed that the most interesting values stack are for example staking the self-consumption with Peak/off Peak optimisation for electrical boiler or electrical vehicle. In the case of residential battering stacking a dynamic tariff optimization with self-consumption is also interesting.