A new approach of optimal appliance scheduling for peak load reduction of an off-grid residential building

Demand for electricity, due to the fast growth in urbanization and industrialization, is on the rapid rise. Load shift is a basic method for demand side management (DSM) that can be used by the central controller in buildings and can lead to the maximum use of renewable energy sources, maximum economic benefits, and reduction of peak demand. This paper proposes an algorithm for shifting the flexible loads of four selected appliances with respect to boundary limits for each appliance. A standalone four-story building with different number of occupants is considered to evaluate this algorithm. The algorithm was trained on Richardson model to minimize two objectives including aggregated demand, and the scheduling discomfort. The proposed algorithm led to significant reduction in aggregated peak demand and thereby savings in standalone system investment. The results demonstrated a major reduction in peak demand from 37% to 44% for winter and summer seasons, respectively.