Electricity storage within the domestic sector as a means to enable renewable energy integration within existing electricity networks

With the present drive to add renewable generation capacity to existing electrical networks, utility providers are seeking ways to store electrical energy as a means of prioritising renewable sources against an unfavourable load profile. One way to do this is through electrical storage heaters and hot water systems within the domestic sector. This approach requires that the control of such devices be externalised and enacted on the basis of parameters relating to renewable energy availability and network power quality.This paper reports the simulation-related aspects of a project involving the roll-out of this approach across a large estate of houses in Lerwick on the Shetland Islands, UK. The paper describes the implementation of network sensitive equipment models for space and water heating within the ESP-r system, the calibration of these models using monitored data, and the application of the outcome to identify an effective approach to equipment control and to develop a demand forecaster to enable the scheduling of network generation assets.