Evaluation of user participation capabilities in demand response programs for smart home applications

A considerable aspect of smart home design and applications require active user participation especially in demand response programs. Some users due to their behavior and conditions might participate more actively than others. This implies that if a third party organization wishes to invest in demand response programs and smart energy systems, there will be a need to evaluate user response capabilities in order to ensure effective engagements with consumer as well as grid performance. In this paper the capabilities of user participation in demand response programs are evaluated using statistical approach and fuzzy logic methodologies. This is achieved by using the component of user behavioral indices which is contained in the historical load profiles of the consumer as the primary input data, as well as the dynamic pricing profile as a secondary input. The defuzzified results show that depending on the fuzzy rules set, an overall user participation index is obtainable which represents the forecasted user participation capabilities in demand response program.