The Flexibility of Electrical Loads in the EU-27 Residential Building Stock

Abstract

With the increasing uptake of heat pumps and buropean building stock, demandside management becomes an increasingly discussed option to balance the volatile share of renewable electricity generation. But what is the potential short-term flexibility of electricity loads in residential buildings within EU countries? And if this potential is used, how would it affect the overall electricity consumption profiles? To answer these questions, we look at socalled “prosumagers”. In this work, prosumagers are considered to be households that use a heat pump and minimize their energy costs through optimization using an hourly electricity price signal (day-ahead wholesale electricity price plus grid fees), keeping the indoor temperature in a specific bandwidth. Results show that prosumaging households can support the grid and decrease electricity demand at high electricity prices. At the same time, electricity peak demand could rise up to 12 % in some EU countries in the future, if all households react to the same hourly electricity price.