A Response Potential Evaluation Method of Inverter Air Conditioner Clusters Considering User Willingness

Power aggregation and potential evaluation of dispersed air-conditioning (AC) loads are the prerequisites for air-conditioning loads to participate in grid dispatch. Existing power aggregation and potential assessment for air conditioning load are mainly focused on fixed frequency air conditioners, and less for inverter air conditioners. In this regard, this paper proposes a method for evaluating the response potential of inverter air-conditioning clusters that considers the wishes of users. First, according to the load model of a single inverter air conditioner and the thermodynamic model of the air-conditioned room, the aggregation model of the inverter air conditioner cluster is derived. Secondly, the user’s comfortable temperature range is obtained by using the predicted mean vote (PMV) index, and the user’s willingness to participate in demand response model is established based on the comfortable temperature range. Finally, the air-conditioning cluster aggregation model and the user willingness model are used to evaluate the load flexibility potential of the AC cluster. A system with 5000 inverter air conditioners was simulated to verify the correctness and effectiveness of the evaluation method.