A Thermostatically Controlled Load Cluster Regulation Method for Peak-Valley Load Balancing

In recent years, the proportion of thermostatically controlled load (TCL) in the power system has been continuously increasing, leading to a further increase in peak-valley load differences. Considering the thermal inertia of TCLs, the active power demand can be adjusted in real-time by changing the operating mode of TCLs. Therefore, the demand side response of TCLs can quickly respond to power system scheduling, which is of great significance for suppressing peak-valley load differences of power systems. To fully evaluate and leverage the potential of TCL resources in power system regulation, a TCL cluster regulation method for peak-valley load balance is proposed in this paper. First, a typical building temperature variation equation based on the equivalent thermal parameter (ETP) model is established to describe the dynamic operating characteristics of TCLs. Then, a user comfort model was constructed and a TCL cluster regulation strategy based on the direct load control (DLC) is proposed. By directly regulating the operating status of TCL through load aggregators, the TCL cluster can effectively serve the peak shaving and valley filling of the power system. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method was verified with a TCL cluster consisting of 600 temperature control devices in a certain region. The simulation results demonstrate the enormous potential of TCLs in providing auxiliary services for peak-valley load balancing, and the proposed method can fully utilize the adjustment ability of TCLs to respond to power system scheduling while ensuring the user comfort.