Integration of Demand Response and Photovoltaic Resources in Residential Segments

Abstract

The development of renewable sources in residential segments is basic to achieve a sustainable energy scenario in the horizon 2030–2050 because these segments explain around 25% of the final energy consumption. Demand Response and its effective coordination with renewable are additional concerns for residential segments. This paper deals with two problems: the demonstration of cost-effectiveness of renewables in three different scenarios, and the application of the flexibility of demand, performing as energy storage systems, to efficiently manage the generation of renewable sources while improving benefits and avoiding penalties for the customer. A residential customer in Spain has been used as example. The work combines the use of a commercial simulator to obtain photovoltaic generation, the monitoring of customer to obtain demand patterns, and the development of a Physically-Based Model to evaluate the capability of demand to follow self-generation. As a main result, the integration of models (load/generation), neglected in practice in other approaches in the literature, allows customers to improve revenue up to 20% and reach a basic but important knowledge on how they can modify the demand, development of new skills and, in this way, learn how to deal with the characteristics and limitations of both Demand and Generation when a customer becomes a prosumer. This synergy amongst demand and generation physically-based models boosts the possibilities of customers in electricity markets.