Optimal scheduling of district heat pumps conceived for implementation in Energy Management Systems to participate in demand response

Nowadays, the exponential growth of Indirect Demand Response (IDR) and Direct Demand Response (DDR) programs is urging researchers to investigate new strategies to enable the provision of flexibility services from any type of energy device. In the case of Heat Pumps (HPs), research efforts revolve a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Roberto Rocca, Stefano Leonori, Gregorio Fernández Aznar, Riccardo Toffanin, Luis Luengo-Baranguan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Energy Conversion and Management: X
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590174525002065
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849330907376254976
author Roberto Rocca
Stefano Leonori
Gregorio Fernández Aznar
Riccardo Toffanin
Luis Luengo-Baranguan
author_facet Roberto Rocca
Stefano Leonori
Gregorio Fernández Aznar
Riccardo Toffanin
Luis Luengo-Baranguan
author_sort Roberto Rocca
collection DOAJ
description Nowadays, the exponential growth of Indirect Demand Response (IDR) and Direct Demand Response (DDR) programs is urging researchers to investigate new strategies to enable the provision of flexibility services from any type of energy device. In the case of Heat Pumps (HPs), research efforts revolve around their integration in Energy Management Systems (EMS). To this end, this work proposes a novel formulation of the optimal scheduling problem of district-level HPs, conceived for EMS implementation, and based on a quadratic programming algorithm, with a specific objective function for IDR and DDR. Furthermore, a rigorous methodology is defined to assess HPs’ performance under both IDR and DDR, where IDR price signals pursue a peak-shaving/valley-filling objective, while DDR considers participation in flexibility markets. The proposed optimal scheduling is implemented in a practical case study, based on real data from the Horizon-Europe project REEFLEX. Results under IDR prove the peak shaving and valley filling capabilities, obtaining reductions in consumption peak and peak-to-dip gap of up to 13% and 34% respectively. Possibility of designing IDR price signals to avoid extra costs for the end users is also proven. For DDR, a sensitivity analysis of peak and average consumption against the price of the flexibility offer is conducted. Peak and average consumption are proven to reduce up to 20% and 35% for upwards flexibility, and to increase up to 100% and 80% for downwards flexibility. Besides, the total energy cost increases against the flexibility price offers at rates of up to 3.75% and 11.25%, respectively in upwards and downwards flexibility.
format Article
id doaj-art-dcd1dddff32b41a6987a0c8d7143f0ef
institution Kabale University
issn 2590-1745
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Energy Conversion and Management: X
spelling doaj-art-dcd1dddff32b41a6987a0c8d7143f0ef2025-08-20T03:46:47ZengElsevierEnergy Conversion and Management: X2590-17452025-07-012710107410.1016/j.ecmx.2025.101074Optimal scheduling of district heat pumps conceived for implementation in Energy Management Systems to participate in demand responseRoberto Rocca0Stefano Leonori1Gregorio Fernández Aznar2Riccardo Toffanin3Luis Luengo-Baranguan4Department of Electrical Systems, CIRCE Technology Centre, Zaragoza, Spain; ENERGAIA Mixed Research Institute (CIRCE Technology Centre and University of Zaragoza), Zaragoza, Spain; Department of Electrical Systems, CIRCE Technology Centre, Zaragoza, Spain.Department of Information Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications (DIET), ”Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Electrical Systems, CIRCE Technology Centre, Zaragoza, SpainAzienda Elettrica di Massagno (AEM), Massagno, SwitzerlandDepartment of Electrical Systems, CIRCE Technology Centre, Zaragoza, SpainNowadays, the exponential growth of Indirect Demand Response (IDR) and Direct Demand Response (DDR) programs is urging researchers to investigate new strategies to enable the provision of flexibility services from any type of energy device. In the case of Heat Pumps (HPs), research efforts revolve around their integration in Energy Management Systems (EMS). To this end, this work proposes a novel formulation of the optimal scheduling problem of district-level HPs, conceived for EMS implementation, and based on a quadratic programming algorithm, with a specific objective function for IDR and DDR. Furthermore, a rigorous methodology is defined to assess HPs’ performance under both IDR and DDR, where IDR price signals pursue a peak-shaving/valley-filling objective, while DDR considers participation in flexibility markets. The proposed optimal scheduling is implemented in a practical case study, based on real data from the Horizon-Europe project REEFLEX. Results under IDR prove the peak shaving and valley filling capabilities, obtaining reductions in consumption peak and peak-to-dip gap of up to 13% and 34% respectively. Possibility of designing IDR price signals to avoid extra costs for the end users is also proven. For DDR, a sensitivity analysis of peak and average consumption against the price of the flexibility offer is conducted. Peak and average consumption are proven to reduce up to 20% and 35% for upwards flexibility, and to increase up to 100% and 80% for downwards flexibility. Besides, the total energy cost increases against the flexibility price offers at rates of up to 3.75% and 11.25%, respectively in upwards and downwards flexibility.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590174525002065Direct demand responseDistrict heatingEnergy management systemFlexibilityHeat pumpIndirect demand response
spellingShingle Roberto Rocca
Stefano Leonori
Gregorio Fernández Aznar
Riccardo Toffanin
Luis Luengo-Baranguan
Optimal scheduling of district heat pumps conceived for implementation in Energy Management Systems to participate in demand response
Energy Conversion and Management: X
Direct demand response
District heating
Energy management system
Flexibility
Heat pump
Indirect demand response
title Optimal scheduling of district heat pumps conceived for implementation in Energy Management Systems to participate in demand response
title_full Optimal scheduling of district heat pumps conceived for implementation in Energy Management Systems to participate in demand response
title_fullStr Optimal scheduling of district heat pumps conceived for implementation in Energy Management Systems to participate in demand response
title_full_unstemmed Optimal scheduling of district heat pumps conceived for implementation in Energy Management Systems to participate in demand response
title_short Optimal scheduling of district heat pumps conceived for implementation in Energy Management Systems to participate in demand response
title_sort optimal scheduling of district heat pumps conceived for implementation in energy management systems to participate in demand response
topic Direct demand response
District heating
Energy management system
Flexibility
Heat pump
Indirect demand response
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590174525002065
work_keys_str_mv AT robertorocca optimalschedulingofdistrictheatpumpsconceivedforimplementationinenergymanagementsystemstoparticipateindemandresponse
AT stefanoleonori optimalschedulingofdistrictheatpumpsconceivedforimplementationinenergymanagementsystemstoparticipateindemandresponse
AT gregoriofernandezaznar optimalschedulingofdistrictheatpumpsconceivedforimplementationinenergymanagementsystemstoparticipateindemandresponse
AT riccardotoffanin optimalschedulingofdistrictheatpumpsconceivedforimplementationinenergymanagementsystemstoparticipateindemandresponse
AT luisluengobaranguan optimalschedulingofdistrictheatpumpsconceivedforimplementationinenergymanagementsystemstoparticipateindemandresponse