Smart heating system control strategy to enhance comfort and increase renewable energy penetration

Heating systems have played an important role in building energy and comfort management. This paper set forth a novel intelligent residential heating system controller that has smart grid functionality. In the smart grid, demand response systems now have the ability to not only engage commercial and industrial customers, but also the individual residential customers. Additionally, the ability exists to have automated control systems which operate on an availability of renewable energy and welfare of customers. In this paper one possible implementation of an active controller will be examined. An active controller operates by responding to a combination of internal set points and external signals from local control entity. The optimization objective of the heating systems management is to minimize the cost of smart microgrid, minimize the size of smart microgrid units, minimize energy import from distribution grid and maximize reliability of the smart microgrid. This means that, smart heating system and renewable energy can work well together and their individual benefits can be added together when used in combination. Simulation studies are used to demonstrate the capability on the proposed heating system controller on the planning of a smart microgrid system.