Demand-Side-Management Strategies in residential buildings by using home energy management systems

In this paper, the potential of home energy management systems is evaluated in three simulation scenario cases: a not refurbished old building and two buildings complying each with the German energy saving law of 2009 and 2012 (EnEV). Furthermore, depending on each building scenario these potentials are investigated based on the impact of different heat producers and heat control strategies, varying dimensioning of photovoltaics, battery and thermal storage. Moreover, the influence of variable and constant electricity prices and two diverging user behaviours of the electric vehicle is dissected. Simulations are accomplished using SimulationX (Modelica) to reproduce the residential environment including its devices as well as MATLAB and GAMS to implement the overall optimization with the focus of minimizing costs and subsequently public grid purchases. It is shown that a smart energy management system utilizes the existing load shifting potential in a residential building for generating significant benefits regarding yearly energy costs and increase both autarky and self-consumption in a positive manner.