Methodology to simulate the impact of a large deployment of a residential energy management system in the electricity grid

•An evaluation of the grid impact of a demand response technology was performed.•The electricity grid impact of demand response was determined at a city level.•A model for simulating residential demand response was developed.•Diagrams of the possible demand reduction and increase were obtained.•New demand peaks may require new grid management strategies.

The purpose of this work is to provide an insight for a possible methodology to implement demand response strategies at a city scale. The objective is to determine a range of values for the energy and power that can be made available through the large deployment of a residential energy management system. This work can help the distribution system operator to assess the impact of the usage of such technology at the grid level.The paper describes a methodology that identifies the start of operation cycles of appliances and other loads on a given general load diagram, enabling the simulation of load shifting caused by the operation of residential energy management systems.A simulation of an hypothetical 20% deployment of a residential energy management system on the city of Coimbra in Portugal, was performed. The results show the release of almost 3% of the demand on periods of higher price, but also the occurrence of a pronounced peak during the night period, an occurrence which may need to be dealt with, and for which some solutions are proposed.