Integrated agent-based home energy management systems for smart grid applications

The participation of residential consumers is vital for a successful implementation of the smart grid vision. The installation of smart meters is envisioned to increase residential consumers' involvement in the electric energy sector. The installations of local energy generations (photovoltaic, and micro-CHP) are on the rise in the residential sector. The smart metering technology coupled with intelligent home energy management systems will facilitate autonomous operation of residential devices while interacting with the grid for local energy optimization, demand response and demand-side management. This paper presents a multi-agent based home energy management system which integrates the smart metering technology, users' preferred settings and flexibility, and uses external (price) signals for residential energy optimization. A dynamic pricing mechanism was developed which takes into account the network loadings and the variations in the energy market. Simulation results show that a home energy management system, which integrates signals from external parties, can be beneficial to all parties - user, network operator and the energy supplier.