Decentralized control of aggregated loads for demand response

This paper focuses on the aggregated control of a large number of residential responsive loads for various demand response applications. We propose a general hybrid system model which can capture the dynamics of both Thermostatically Controlled Loads (TCLs) such as air conditioners and water heaters, as well as deferrable loads such as washers, dryers, and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs). Based on the hybrid system model, the aggregated control problem is formulated as a large scale optimal control problem that determines the energy use plans for a heterogeneous population of hybrid systems. A decentralized cooperative control algorithm is proposed to solve the aggregated control problem. Convergence of the proposed algorithm is proved using potential game theory. The simulation results indicate that the aggregated power response can accurately track a reference trajectory and effectively reduce the peak power consumption.