Demand-Side Management in Smart Micro-Grids: An Optimization Perspective

With the smart grid revolution, the energy consumption of houses will play a significant role in the energy system. Indeed, home users are responsible for a significant portion of the world's energy needs but market prices for this energy remain inelastic (i.e., energy demands do not follow energy prices). Thus, the performance of the whole energy generation and distribution system can be improved by optimizing the management of household energy use. There are a number of challenges associated with this goal including cost, the environmental considerations, user comfort and the presence of multiple decision makers (e.g., the end users and energy operators).