Use of Residential Smart Appliances for Peak-Load Shifting and Spinning Reserves Cost/Benefit Analysis

Abstract

In this report, we present the results of an analytical cost/benefit study of residential "smart appliances" 1 from a utility/grid perspective in support of a joint stakeholder 2 petition to the ENERGY STAR program within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy (DOE). The goal of the petition is in part to provide appliance manufacturers incentives to hasten the production of smart appliances. The underlying hypothesis is that smart appliances can play a critical role in addressing some of the societal challenges, such as anthropogenic global warming, associated with increased electricity demand, and facilitate increased penetration of renewable sources of power. The appliances we consider include refrigerator/freezers, clothes washers, clothes dryers, room airconditioners, and dishwashers. The petition requests the recognition that providing an appliance with smart grid capability, i.e., products that meet the definition of a "smart appliance," is at least equivalent to a corresponding five percent in operational machine efficiencies. It is then expected that given sufficient incentives and value propositions, and suitable automation capabilities built into smart appliances, residential consumers will be adopting these smart appliances and will be willing participants in addressing the aforementioned societal challenges by more effectively managing their home electricity consumption. 1 "Smart Appliances" are capable of either shifting their time of operation or curtailing their operation temporarily upon request. A more detailed definition is presented in Section 1.1.

A Review of Active Management for Distribution Networks: Current Status and Future Development Trends

“…The study and application of SAs have been extensively explored, from smart thermostats to a series of home appliances, including but not limited to smart refrigerators/freezers, clothes washers/dryers, room air conditioners, and dishwashers [10,113,114]. By shifting the operation from on-peak hours to off-peak hours, the SA is an effective tool for DSM.…”

“…Furthermore, the demand and the supply from undispatched renewable energy resources (RES) could be well leveled by the SA, thereby increasing the penetration of RES. In [113], the benefits of implementing SAs were evaluated in terms of peak load shifting and spinning reserves. The calculation based on the price information from real wholesale markets indicates that the annual benefits by using SA are far more than the cost.…”

The impact of scheduling appliances and rate structure on bill savings for net-zero energy communities: Application to West Village

“…Fortuitously, the Ramble Apartments are all-electric and will be evaluated with an electric resistance heater as well as an electric air-to-water heat pump. Furthermore, new home appliances such as timer-equipped dishwashers, timed thermostats, programmable timers, and all-in-one washer dryer units with delayed timing all make scheduling easier for the consumer [4]. The development of latent heat thermal energy storage that incorporates phase change materials into hot water tanks, such as those demonstrated by Sharma et al [19], will further enable DHW to be heated during off-peak periods, stored, and used later for sinks and showers [20].…”

“…By reducing peak period electricity demand, TOU rates could potentially save residents $1.2 billion per year in California alone and benefit utility companies by reducing the need for expensive peaking generators, thereby cutting annual utility operation costs by $15 billion in the United States [1,2]. Overall, load shifting makes the overall grid more reliable and it facilitates the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the compatibility of renewable sources with the grid, thereby creating a more diversified, clean and secure energy portfolio [3][4][5][6].…”

Modeling of GE Appliances: Cost Benefit Study of Smart Appliances in Wholesale Energy, Frequency Regulation, and Spinning Reserve Markets

“…Costs are typically far greater during peak demand periods than off-peak periods; however, consumers are most commonly exposed to a flat rate charge for electricity that does not necessarily reflect the current cost of energy production. For example, in the 2008 Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) the average on-peak price was 105.36 $/MWh, while the off-peak price was 66.99 $/MWh (a ratio of 1.57 on-peak to off-peak) [13]. Note that the actual ratio is very dependent upon which hours are specified as on-peak versus off-peak.…”