Potential of Supermarket Refrigeration Systems for Grid Balancing by Demand Response

Paper in proceeding, 2019

The environmental goals of European Union demand a larger share of renewable energy sources for electrical energy generation. With the increasing share of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, the utility grids has an increasing need for energy storage and/or demand side management. With a high energy intensity and a large thermal inertia, the refrigeration systems of supermarkets appear as an attractive actor for demand response in such scenario. Theoretically they have the capability to absorb vast amounts of electrical energy as stored compressor work, lowering the temperature of the food goods in the refrigerators. Alternatively supermarkets have the capability of reducing their energy demand by allowing the food goods temperature increase to its upper limit, reducing electrical power demand for the grid. This positioning paper will further discuss the attractiveness as and feasibility to use supermarkets for electrical energy balancing by demand response in a smart grid.