Optimal control of aggregated heterogeneous thermostatically controlled loads for regulation services

Controlling the aggregated power of a population of heterogeneous thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) to provide ancillary service is currently a promising technique in smart grid. This paper proposes an improved population model with device lockout effect considered inherently to describe the aggregate dynamics. Based on the improved model, three different controllers are developed for the regulation service. Control performance and regulation flexibility of different controllers are compared through the simulation results.