Residential heat pumps as flexible loads for direct control service with constrained payback

This paper addresses the problem of an aggregator controlling residential heat pumps to offer a direct control flexibility service. The service is defined by a 15 minute power modulation, upward or downward, followed by a payback of one hour and 15 minutes. The service modulation is relative to an optimized baseline that minimizes the energy costs. The potential amount of modulable power and the payback effect are computed by solving mixed integer linear problems. Within these problems, the building thermal behavior is modeled by an equivalent thermal network made of resistances and lumped capacitances whose parameters are identified from validated models. Simulations are performed on 100 freestanding houses. For an average 4.3 kW heat pump, results show a potential of 1.2 kW upward modulation with a payback of 600 Wh and 150 Wh of overconsumption. A downward modulation of 500 W per house can be achieved with a payback of 420 Wh and 120 Wh of overconsumption.