Local Estimation of Critical and Off-Peak Periods for Grid-Friendly Flexible Load Management

In the demand-side management (DSM) context, some appliances are remotely controlled by the utility or by end-users based on the expected aggregated consumption profile or day-ahead electricity rates. The main objective of these actions is to shift the load from critical to off-peak periods. This article proposes a novel approach to estimate in real time the load as seen by the distribution power network. The only requirement to perform this online estimation is the voltage measurement at the electrical board panel of the end-user building. The proposed method combines digital filtering, statistical process, and transient analysis to make possible the accurate identification of the corrective actions introduced by the voltage regulation system of the distribution network. Hence, this identification permits the estimation of the aggregated load profile. The method provides real-time information that can be used by the end-user or an automated energy management system to initiate demand response actions depending on the state of the grid, e.g., shaving, shifting, or modulation of the local load. Experimental data of three different locations permitted the validation of this novel approach, which enables the implementation of grid-friendly home energy managements systems with DSM functions at a very low cost for the utilities and end-users.