Power consumption scheduling for residential buildings

The increasing growth of electricity usage in buildings points out the significant role of residential users in the programs for the efficient control and management of electrical energy. The shaving of consumption peaks in household is becoming an integral part of the national energy strategies to reduce the risk of blackouts and ensure environmental sustainability of new urban context. This paper investigates the use of the paradigm of swarm intelligence to scheduling the operation of household appliances in order to reduce to smooth the variation and reduce the peak-to-average ratio of total electricity demand at home. Simulation results confirm the proposed approach.