SWITCH: Case Studies in the Demand Side Management of Washing Appliances

The emergence of viable smart home technologies together with ambitious government initiatives for smart meter rollouts will provide a rich platform on which to develop demand side management strategies that aim to modify consumer's use of energy. In this work we develop such a platform that aims to ‘SWITCH’ behaviour patterns and ‘SWITCH’ on/off energy consuming appliances when they are not needed or when they could be utilised to benefit from on-site power generation or off-peak electricity. This platform was installed in 3 occupied domestic properties that form part of the Creative Energy Homes project at the University of Nottingham, UK. A total of 6 case studies are presented that investigate the impact of shifting the time of use of washing machines and dishwashers with varying levels of user engagement. A range of issues and user perceptions of the technology are presented and discussed.