Serving solar variations with consumption control of smart appliances and electric vehicles

Renewable energy, such as solar power provides a clean, alternative in reducing CO₂ emissions. However, it is dependent on balancing reserves to smooth its power fluctuations as a result of cloud coverage and the time of day. We propose an alternate solution by using residential load-shifting that includes electric vehicles. In our concept, aggregated appliances and electric vehicles provide responsive loads as positive or negative consumption on demand. We simulate residential households to investigate whether load-shifting can create enough balancing power from responsive loads to smooth solar variations. Future possibilities are also taken into consideration by analyzing different electric vehicle penetrations and charging modes. This provides us with varying balancing power generated in which we determine certain characteristics that can provide the necessary energy to fulfill smoothing solar variations.