An integrated Building-to-Grid model for evaluation of energy arbitrage value of Thermal Storage

Abstract

Thermal Electric Storage (TES) has emerged as a promising technology for enhancing the flexibility of the built environment to participate in active Demand Side Management (DSM). These devices allow the decoupling of intra-day scheduling of electric power demand from the time of thermal energy end-use. Therefore, if enabled with communication with the grid, these devices can facilitate load shifting and energy arbitrage. This study evaluates the energy arbitrage value of smart TES devices in residential buildings across Ireland. A Building-to-Grid (B2G) model has been developed which integrates the buildings thermal dynamics and end-use constraints with the power systems economic dispatch model. The thermal behavior of the houses and the TES space heater and hot water tank is modeled through linear state space models for three different mid-flat archetypes. The optimization results show the load shifting and arbitrage potential of TES and its impacts on wind curtailment considering various penetration levels of these devices.