Validation of flexible demand models and strategies in smart grids for small and medium prosumers

Renewable energies have recently demonstrated their ability reducing the dependence on fossil fuels, contributing to the resilience of energy supply and playing an important role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This increasing use of renewable energy sources has led to the proliferation of prosumer microgrids, where users take on a dual role, both consumers of the self-generated electricity from renewables and producers of the system power. This distributed model of energy generation and consumption allows users not only to generate and consume electricity, but also to share it with others, encouraging greater participation in the energy system. However, the intermittent nature of renewable energies sources poses significant challenges to the stability and reliability of the electricity system. In this context, flexible demand has emerged as a key strategy to adapt energy consumption to the availability of generation. In this sense, prosumer microgrids represent an innovative approach to optimise energy, as flexible demands strategies can be applied by the same prosumer that control both generation and load. After an extensive flexible demand technologies and techniques analysis, the aim of this article is to propose a scalable system for flexible demand characterization, prosumer-oriented, based on a renewable microgrid and thermal tests. Key words. Prosumer, microgrid, flexible demand, energy consumption management, distributed generation.