User Comfort-Oriented Home Energy Management System Under Demand Response

Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) are a key technology that enables residential customers to actively participate in demand response (DR) programs by controlling their energy usage and reducing or shifting their consumption outside periods of grid stress in response to financial rewards such as tax breaks or rebates. However, DR trials across the world have shown that most of the customers remain reluctant to enroll into these programs due to unwanted interruptions and strict guidance from the utilities which cause inconvenience to the users. This paper presents a human comfort-based control approach for home energy management to promote the DR participation of residential customers. The proposed algorithm seeks to minimize peak load demands by scheduling the operation of electric appliances and shifting controllable loads during periods when electricity prices are high, to off-peak periods, when electricity prices are lower without compromising the customer’s preferences. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed DR strategy in managing the daily household energy consumption and improving the occupants’ comfort.