Load potential for demand side management in the residential sector in Austrian Smart Grids

Abstract

To utilize the available power by avoiding and shifting peak loads to increase the overall efficiency and to reduce costs and emissions of the energy system load control procedures become more and more important in Smart Grids. To use the process-related load control potentials economically and ecologically worthwhile, the quantity of these potentials have to be known and the influence on the energy service, the customer as well as on energy production and energy distribution have to be analyzed. Sophisticated data acquisition and measurement systems (e.g. Smart Meters) are necessary to realize the technical and economical interface between the energy distribution grid and centralized, decentralized and distributed energy generation. In addition to those sophisticated systems for data collection, measurement, counting, switching a.s.o., adequate energy processes - which can be used reasonably for load management - have to be identified and DSM-/smart-grid-ready appliances are expected to allow improved load management and to supply reserve power for generation fluctuations e.g. for wind and PV. To realize the consumer dependent load shift potentials user oriented, identifiable and switchable devices as well as a management system have to be identified and still have to be toughened, otherwise only simple device-related load and energy saving potentials e.g. in the sector of hot water storage tanks remain.