Rescheduling electricity demands in domestic buildings

Utilisation of electricity within the domestic sector is examined. The characteristically time-dependent behaviours of domestic consumers and their associated usages of household appliances result in ‘peaky’ daily electricity-demand curves. This is not conducive to achieving (i) a high-efficiency electricity supply, (ii) low rates of financial investment in a new generating plant or (iii) curtailing rates of pollutant emissions. A relatively energy-efficient, environmentally clean, electricity-supply system can only be realised when the total demand (i.e. the total for the domestic, commercial and industrial sectors) versus time curve does not exhibit rapid changes in gradient. In order to achieve this goal, existing and more appropriate electrical load-management techniques need to be implemented, especially for the domestic sector. Thus, opportunities for demand-side load-management are assessed together with the prospective benefits obtainable by domestic consumers and electricity-supply companies.