A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering
in the School of Electrical and Information Engineering, July 2017 / This dissertation presents the design and testing of controllers intended to provide au-
tonomous demand response, through the use of water heater loads and grid frequency
measurements. The controllers use measured frequency as an indication of the strain on
a utility grid, which allows demand side management to be isolated from any form of
central control. Water heaters can operate as
exible loads because their power consump-
tion can be dispatched or deferred without directly impacting users. These properties
make it possible to control individual water heaters based on the functioning of the grid,
rather than end user input. The purpose of this research is to ultimately provide a low-
cost alternative to a traditional Smart Grid, that will improve the resilience of a grid
without negatively impacting users. The controllers presented here focus on ensuring
that users receive hot water, while attempting to reduce any imbalance between power
generated and power consumed on the grid. Simulations of these controllers in various
situations highlight that while the controllers developed respond suitably to variations
in the grid frequency and adequately ensure end users receive hot water, the practical
bene t of the controllers depends largely on the intrinsic characteristics of the grid. / CK2018
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/24802 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Cooper, Douglas John |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | Online resource (xi, 83 leaves), application/pdf |
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