Managing end-user preferences in the smart grid

Abstract

Demand Response(DR) is a method for achieving energy efficiency through stimulating end-users to adjust their demand to respond to change in electricity markets. Significant consumption and cost savings can potentially be made via DR strategies. However, the lack of knowledge of how to develop and apply these strategies is a barrier for small businesses and residential users taking advantage of this method. With the emerging Smart Grid technologies, it is now possible to build a cost-effective computing infrastructure by combining Web services and off-the-shelf home automation equipment to address this problem. As Smart Grids roll out, a significant challenge is effective management of automated DR in a large scale. For example, the lack of coordination among DR participants may diminish the energy saving effort of an individual. Also, balancing energy efficiency and user satisfaction is another unresolved DR challenge for Smart Grids. In this paper, we propose a method to aggregate and manage end-users' preferences to maximize both energy efficiency and user satisfaction. We also give an algorithm for multiple such service providers to optimize outcomes through selfish load-balancing. Our method can be implemented with emerging open standard for Automated DR. Our extensive simulation shows the effectiveness of the proposed method.