Demand response in smart buildings through time-varying priority of household appliances

Energy management through Demand Response (DR) is one of the effective techniques, which can be implemented in a way beneficial to both the consumer and the utility in a smart grid environment. Generally, the maximum demand allowed by the utility and the penalty imposed, if used above the allowed limit, are taken as major parameters for the energy management in DR programs. This paper proposes a time varying priority based load scheduling algorithm which can effectively schedule the household appliances in a residential building, in such a way that the total cost payable by the consumer to the utility is minimum for a given Maximum Capacity Limit (MCL) dictated by the utility. This algorithm is tested on the load data of a residential building with local renewable power generation. A comparative study has been performed without and with renewable energy generation and scheduling algorithm. The results are presented in detail and the benefits that can be envisioned are summarized. This paper aims at easing the implementation of smart grid in regulated or partially deregulated countries like India, where still the flat rate tariff is being practiced.