Information and Communications Systems for Control-by-Price of Distributed Energy Resources and Flexible Demand

The control-by-price concept fits well with controlling small-scale generation, storage and demand. In this paper, we investigate the required information and communications systems that are needed to realize the control-by-price concept for such units. We first present a proposal for overall infrastructure and subsystem design and secondly focus on the design and implementation of the end-user price-responsive controller, interfaces, and communications. The design and its applicability on existing devices is verified through laboratory tests with two cases: electric space heating thermostat control and a small combined heat and power unit. The results show that the price-responsive controller reduces the end user's electricity cost, or increases his income respectively, by about 7%. At the same time, the price-responsive controller provides an interface for the transmission system operator to utilize distributed energy resources and flexible demand as a regulating resource. Furthermore, the results illustrate and verify the applicability of the concept and the proposed infrastructure for controlling distributed energy resources and flexible demand.