Demand-Side Response for Grid-Independent Islands Based on Flexible Energy Management Using Heat Pumps

Title: Demand-Side Response for Grid-Independent Islands Based on Flexible Energy Management Using Heat Pumps Authors: James Freeman, Daniel Coakley, Charalampos Angelopoulos Abstract: Large-scale deployment of local renewable energy sources (RES), coupled with demand-side response (DSR), is viewed as a critical strategy for improved energy security on geographic islands. This study, conducted as part of the Horizon 2020 “REACT” Project, focuses on the case-study island of Inishmore, western Ireland, under a future increased-renewables scenario in which the heating demand for 65% of the island’s 300 permanently-occupied off-gas grid dwellings is provided by air-to-water heat pumps. Simulations are performed using a community-scale energy system model, with the heat dynamics of the individual dwellings represented by reduced-order sub-component models. Rule-based control strategies are simulated for multiple DSR objectives, based on the concept of a centralised energy management platform issuing automated commands to each individual heat pump to serve as a dispatchable load. Annual simulation results presented in this paper include an 18% reduction in total renewable energy exported or curtailed under a “maximum RES self-consumption” strategy, and a 23% reduction in peak load under a “peak-load shifting” strategy. Keywords: heat pumps; renewable energy; demand response; energy storage