A framework for activating residential HVAC demand response for wind generation balancing

The integration of a great deal of intermittent renewable generation in future grids will require more operational flexibility. Residential demand response can provide the load shaping potentials thereby alleviating the need for operational flexibility. This paper intends to develop a centralized framework focusing on realization of domestic heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) demand response capability for wind power balancing. In the proposed optimization model, energy consumption of HVAC loads is optimized to tackle the variability of wind power. The thermal comfort penalty is explicitly integrated in the objective function in order to oblige different customers´ thermal preferences. Performance of the framework is verified through simulations on Finnish case studies. The simulation results suggest that the proposed framework will help the network operators to benefit from cheap renewable generation.