Contributions of heat pumps to demand response: A case study of a plus-energy dwelling

Abstract Demand Response programs are increasingly used in the electricity sector, since they allow consumers to play a significant role for balancing supply and demand by reducing or shifting their electricity consumption. For that purpose, incentives such as time-based rates have been proposed. The present study analyzes the potential benefits of operating the heat pump of a plus-energy dwelling which participates in a dynamic pricing market, benefitting from the thermal storage capacity of the building. The software TRNSYS 17 has been used to model the building and the supply system. A validation of the model was carried out by using available measurements of the dwelling. Three setpoint temperature scenarios have been considered for sixteen different strategies which depend on temperature and electricity price thresholds, with the aim of determining which alternatives could lead to significant savings while maintaining an acceptable thermal comfort. Several factors such as cost savings, heat pump consumption, ratio of self-consumption of the dwelling and use of the heat pump during peak hours were also evaluated in every case. The results show that dynamic price thresholds should be used instead of fixed price thresholds, which may cause low activations of the heat pump or overheat the building above the comfort limits. Cost savings up to 25% may be achieved by using optimal strategies, increasing the self-consumption ratio, having almost no influence on the thermal comfort and achieving significant peak reductions on the grid. The outcomes of this study show the importance of looking at the implications of such strategies on several criteria within a demand response framework.