Field Assessment of Residential Smart Electric Baseboard DR Strategies on Load and Comfort

In a pilot program in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, BC, Canada, a demand response (DR) strategy was applied to the electric baseboard heaters of residential units, during winter 2019–20. The objective was to measure the real-world benefits of using smart thermostats to modify temperature setpoints to store, in the household, thermal energy prior to afternoon peak hours for subsequent reduction of peak demand. Setpoint transitions were applied with differing temperature offsets to study the effect on energy savings and comfort. The results of the analysis showed a similar level of flexibility regardless of the severity of the setpoint variations.