Modeling demand response of consumers to incentives using fuzzy systems

The requirements of distribution grids are increasing. In a smart grid, critical states and overstress are predictable. If any kind of load shedding is available then grid expansions can be alleviated. Demand response could be used to motivate consumers to load shifting via incentives. Potential of load shifting in households exists, but remains uncertain so far due to the lack of knowledge about responsiveness of consumers to different kinds of incentives even if this is the key issue for demand response programs. This paper introduces a completely new approach for a micro-economic model, which estimates the price responsiveness of consumers to incentives in a rational decision making model based on fuzzy technology. It allows investigating the effect of different kinds of incentives on the demand side participation and response, the impact on residential consumers and the consequences for the low voltage distribution grids.