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A master's thesis from Aalborg University
Book cover


Energy Management for Household Prosumer

Authors

;

Term

4. term

Publication year

2021

Submitted on

Pages

116

Abstract

As renewable energy makes up a larger share of electricity, it has become more affordable for households to install their own green systems and become prosumers—homes that both produce and consume power. Government incentives, such as feed-in tariffs and reduced taxes, support this trend. Today, a home setup can include solar panels, batteries, small wind turbines, heat pumps, and more. The main motivations are lower energy bills and helping to address climate change. Because solar and wind are variable, a compact Energy Management System (EMS) is important to coordinate all power flows efficiently. Such systems use optimization algorithms to decide, for example, when to charge or discharge a battery or charge an Electric Vehicle (EV). This thesis develops an EMS that schedules how a prosumer’s devices use, store, and supply electricity, with three goals: minimize the electricity bill, provide user comfort, and limit the maximum power drawn from the grid. The solution is designed to be flexible so it can work across many different household setups. The work combines long-term analysis to assess financial performance with short-term simulations to validate power management. Feasibility is also central: the EMS should be deployable on real hardware and control actual power flows. The broader aim is to enable the widespread and successful integration of the latest renewable energy technologies in homes.

I takt med at vedvarende energi fylder mere i elproduktionen, er det blevet billigere for husholdninger at installere egne grønne anlæg og blive prosumere—hjem, der både producerer og forbruger strøm. Offentlige incitamenter som indfødningstariffer og lavere afgifter understøtter denne udvikling. I dag kan en husstandsopsætning omfatte solceller, batterier, små vindmøller, varmepumper m.m. Motivationen er især lavere elregninger og at bidrage til at bekæmpe klimaforandringer. Da produktionen fra sol og vind svinger, er et kompakt energistyringssystem (EMS) vigtigt for effektivt at koordinere alle energistrømme. Sådanne systemer bruger optimeringsalgoritmer til for eksempel at planlægge, hvornår et batteri eller en elbil (EV) skal lades. Dette speciale udvikler et EMS, der planlægger, hvordan prosumerens enheder bruger, lagrer og leverer strøm, med tre mål: minimere elregningen, sikre brugerkomfort og begrænse den maksimale effekt, der trækkes fra elnettet. Løsningen er fleksibel og kan anvendes i mange forskellige husstandsopsætninger. Arbejdet kombinerer langsigtede analyser for at vurdere den økonomiske effektivitet med kortsigtede simuleringer for at validere energistyringen. Gennemførlighed er også afgørende: EMS'et skal kunne implementeres på faktisk hardware og styre reelle energistrømme. Målet er at understøtte en bred og vellykket integration af de nyeste vedvarende teknologier i hjemmene.

[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]