MPC weights tunning role on the energy optimization in residential appliances

Genuine concerns regarding air pollution, climate change, and dependence on unstable and expensive supplies of fossil fuels have lead policy makers and researchers to search for alternatives to conventional petroleum-fueled combustion power plants with the purpose to reduce greenhouse gas emission. This leads to an urgent need to substitute them with alternate generating capacity or reduce the consumption during peak periods, or both. One of the options for power generation is the use of renewable energy resources, which can inject power to the grid deprived of greenhouse gas emissions. But, from the load point of view, the renewable energy resources capacity is not sufficient to supply all the required power. These points to the necessity of innovative methods, able to diminish energy consumption in different sectors, but also with the aim of reducing the domestic customer´s total energy costs, greenhouse gas emissions and energy demand, especially during on-peak, while always considering the end user preferences. Hence, this paper analyses model predictive control (MPC) application in domestic appliances with the purpose of energy optimization. In this context, the research theme is focused on the relation between MPC weighting adjustment and the minimization of energy consumption. Three domestic loads are used for MPC tuning evaluation: water heater (WH), room temperature control by conditioner (AC) and refrigerator (RF).