Analysis and Methodology to Segregate Residential Electricity Consumption in Different Taxonomies

This work presents a two-stage model for the data analysis of electricity consumption. The first stage divides the consumption in two parts: weather- and illumination-related, and residual consumption, where weather-related consumption refers to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC). Given the hourly total consumption, we obtain the hourly weather-related and illumination-related electricity consumption, and subtract this out to get residual consumption. The second stage of the model is a flexible, agent-based analytical tool that allows disaggregation of residual consumption into a sum of consumptions by different groups of appliances. This tool can be used for a variety of applications including an optimization of demand-side management and/or a development of a set of desirable patterns for schedules of electricity-related activities in households (within an acceptable range of course) in order to minimize negative effects of high peak demand.

I. Introduction and Overview

Modernizing the electric power distribution system is a substantial undertaking because the electromechanical grid has not kept pace with innovations in digital information and telecommunications. The economic significance of electricity is huge. It is one of the largest and most capital-intensive sectors of the economy. Even with adequate electric generation, bottlenecks in the transmission system interfere with the reliable, efficient, and affordable delivery of electric power. One of the greatest challenges facing electric distribution is responding to rapidly changing customer demands for electricity. Increased use of information technologies has lowered the tolerance to outages and fluctuations in voltage.