Smart Lighting Systems as a Demand Response Solution for Future Smart Grids

Massive deployment of distributed and intermittent renewable energy sources cause instability in the power system because of the mismatch between the power generation and load consumption. In order to solve this problem, smart loads embedded with modern power electronic converters and communication devices are being developed. They are able to communicate with the utility and perform automatic demand response. In this paper, we propose a smart light-emitting diode (LED) driver for lighting. This smart LED driver adjusts its electricity usage in response to the utility without the expense of human visual comfort. To achieve this goal, a new control method is developed and a typical rate of change of LED power is determined through conducting a series of visual assessments with interviewees. An experimental smart LED driver is built to validate the new control method. Experimental report from the visual assessments has confirmed that the proposed control method can significantly reduce the light flickering caused by the change of LED power.