A Survey-Assisted Time-Domain Characterization of the Power Patterns of Main Household Appliances

The characterisation of power curves for individual household appliances needs to consider technical and user behaviour-based aspects. To assess the impact of an aggregation of appliances, the combination of non-synchronised power curves of multiple appliances with different types of usage in different households has to be represented. This article sets up a framework of analysis that incorporates survey-based indications on the user's behaviour, taken from a dedicated questionnaire, and the measured characteristics of main appliances with user-based activation. A Monte Carlo approach is formulated to determine the specific contribution of a given number of similar appliances to the aggregate power curve. Examples are shown, considering examples taken from the aggregate usage of washing machines and dishwashers as two exemplificative types of main household appliances with user-based activation. The analysis is then extended to power curves defined with different time steps to determine indications such as the peak power and the 99% and 95% non-exceeding probability of the aggregate demand for the same type of appliances. The availability of information on the aggregation of the main appliances is useful to refine demand response programmes and assess the interaction between appliances, local generation and local storage in the household.