An actively controlled residential heat pump: Potential on peak shaving and maximization of self-consumption of renewable energy

A trend of increasing electrification will put a pressure on the reliability and stability of electrical distribution grids. Demand response, whereby the demand of electricity is adjusted to the availability, can ease this problem. A lab test setup was built to examine the potential of a heat pump for demand response purposes. With this test setup, it is possible to emulate the behaviour of a heat pump in a single household building equipped with either photovoltaic panels or a residential wind turbine. A market-based multi-agent system was developed to control the active heat pump. The goal of this active control was to limit the peak power demands of the building and to maximise the self-consumption of the locally produced electricity. For two weeks, the coldest winter week and an average winter week, the behaviour of the actively controlled heat pump was compared to a regular, heat-driven controlled heat pump.