Optimal and Learning-Based Demand Response Mechanism for Electric Water Heater System

Bo Lin, Shuhui Li and Yang Xiao
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Bo Lin: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA
Shuhui Li: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA
Yang Xiao: Department of Computer Science, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA

Energies, 2017, vol. 10, issue 11, 1-17

Abstract: This paper investigates how to develop a learning-based demand response approach for electric water heater in a smart home that can minimize the energy cost of the water heater while meeting the comfort requirements of energy consumers. First, a learning-based, data-driven model of an electric water heater is developed by using a nonlinear autoregressive network with external input (NARX) using neural network. The model is updated daily so that it can more accurately capture the actual thermal dynamic characteristics of the water heater especially in real-life conditions. Then, an optimization problem, based on the NARX water heater model, is formulated to optimize energy management of the water heater in a day-ahead, dynamic electricity price framework. A genetic algorithm is proposed in order to solve the optimization problem more efficiently. MATLAB (R2016a) is used to evaluate the proposed learning-based demand response approach through a computational experiment strategy. The proposed approach is compared with conventional method for operation of an electric water heater. Cost saving and benefits of the proposed water heater energy management strategy are explored.

Keywords: electric water heater; energy conservation; thermodynamic modeling; demand-side management; smart homes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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