PV curtailment reduction with smart homes and heat pumps

Photovoltaic (PV) system operators in Germany with an installed PV peak power of less than 30 kWp are obliged to either let their PV infeed being reduced externally or to generally limit their maximum PV infeed to a threshold of 70% of the installed PV peak power. This curtailment reduces the PV-induced grid load significantly but also leads to a notable loss of renewable energy. This paper presents the contribution of heat pumps to reduce the energy loss by increasing the self-consumption of smart homes. This is achieved by applying an appropriate control of the heat pumps. Additionally, the corresponding impact on a low-voltage distribution grid is investigated. Simulation results reveal that it is possible to notably reduce the loss of energy even throughout the summer season. Furthermore, load flow calculations show that it is also possible to stabilize the low-voltage distribution grid at the same time.