Demand response flexibility and flexibility potential of residential smart appliances: Experiences from large pilot test in Belgium

This paper presents a well-founded quantified estimation of the demand response flexibility of residential smart appliances. The flexibility from five types of appliances available within residential premises (washing machines, tumble dryers, dishwashers, domestic hot water buffers and electric vehicles), is quantified based on measurements from the LINEAR pilot, a large-scale research and demonstration project focused on the introduction of demand response at residential premises in the Flanders region in Belgium. The flexibility potential of the smart appliances, or the maximal amount of time a certain increase or decrease of power can be realized within the comfort requirements of the user, is calculated. In general, the flexibility potential varies during the day, and the potential for increasing or decreasing the power consumption is in general not equal. Additionally, an extrapolation of the flexibility potential of wet appliances is presented for Belgium. The analysis shows that, using smart wet appliances, an average maximum increase of 430 W per household can be realized at midnight, and a maximum decrease of 65 W per household can be realized in the evening. The resulting flexibility potential can be used as an instrument to determine the impact or economic viability of demand response programs for residential premises.