Efficient Electricity Management System for Optimal Peak/Off-Peak Hour Pricing

Abstract

With the advent of new technologies and an alarming increase in the world’s population, there has been a rapid increase in energy consumption. Consequently, this has resulted in a surge in developing sources that generate electricity and concurrently escalating global warming levels. Owing to their contributions in vast applications, dependence on renewable energy is a reliable option. However, it is known that a complete and efficient utilization of the incoming solar radiation is not feasible, taking into account the various losses associated. Our proposal addresses concerns resulting in the efficient utilization of solar energy based on optimal cost analysis by the mathematical procedure. This methodology when used along with a battery-based photovoltaic (PV) system effectively reduces the amount of electricity imported from the grid. The implementation of this method scales down the monthly electricity consumption by 67.1%. Our findings were established considering South Korea’s residential electricity tariff system. Our system works based on a principle where the batteries are charged with solar PV during off-peak hours and discharged during peak hours. The state of charge of the battery could be monitored using a web server. In situations, wherein the load demand cannot be sustained by the batteries, grid power can be utilized during peak hours. The sequence of these events can be implemented by a series of algorithms. Our proposed system also helps in achieving the goal-7 of the sustainable development goals (SDG) prescribed by the United Nations (UN), which is to boost the consumption of renewable energy which ultimately results in monetary savings to a large extent.