A novel hybrid control strategy for demand response in smart grids

The paper presents a novel control strategy for modifying the system demand by applying an ON/OFF signal to the control loads, for maintaining supply-demand balance. The strategy involves employing Cooperative Home Energy Management Systems (CoHEM) at distribution transformers, acting as a bridge between utility and customers and exploiting the benefits of both centralized and decentralized control techniques. Domestic refrigerators owing to their large volume and heat storage capacity are used as control loads. The aim of load manipulation for power balancing is validated by carrying out simulations on a single refrigerator model in Matlab. Additionally, simulations of 1250 refrigerators in Matlab confirm that the control strategy mitigates the synchronization problem as well as the power mismatch compared to no control case. The novelty of the proposed control system arises from introducing CoHEM which reduces the heavy technical and financial burdens associated with the previously proposed control systems.