Parameter Selection for a Centralized Thermostatically Controlled Appliances Load Controller Used for Intra-Hour Load Balancing

This paper presents a novel dynamic parameter selection process to optimize the performance of a centralized load controller designed to provide intra-hour load balancing services using thermostatically controlled appliances (TCAs). An optimal set of control parameters for the controller are selected by exhaustive simulations of control variables such as the sampling time of the forecaster, the magnitude of the load balancing signal, and the temperature deadband. The effects of TCA lock-off times, ambient temperatures, heat gains, and two-way communication delays on the controller design are also modeled. Customer comfort, device life cycles, and control errors are used as metrics to evaluate the performance. The results demonstrate that the optimized controller offers satisfactory performance considering all the operational uncertainties.