GRASP model for smart home electrical loads scheduling

Controllable load scheduling is an important topic of study in smart homes which intends to use intelligent distributed resources, especially those which provide renewable energy in order to minimize cost of power supplied by the distribution network. This paper develops a model for controllable load scheduling in a smart home using GRASP. The developed model seeks to maximize the available energy from distributed resources in order to use less power supplied by the distribution network. Thus, the Home Energy Management System can make decisions about the most appropriate periods to turn on controllable loads based on the model developed in this work. A typical residential user in the area of Sao Paulo (Brazil) which has strong solar radiation and a significant contribution of wind speed was established as study case. The charging and discharging batteries profile presented an interesting performance, showing the capabilities of such system to reduce peak loading on the distribution network. The development of a simplified model for scheduling the most appropriate moments for turning on a controllable load is the original contribution of this work.