Energy, Controls, and Applications Lab

For thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) to perform demand response services in real-time markets, recursive methods for parameter estimation are needed.  As the physical characteristics of a TCL change (e.g. the contents of a refrigerator or the occupancy of a conditioned room), it is necessary to update the parameters of the TCL model. Otherwise, the TCL will be incapable of accurately predicting its potential energy demand, thereby decreasing the reliability of a TCL aggregation to perform demand response. In this paper, we investigate the potential of an unscented Kalman filter (UKF) algorithm to identify a TCL model that is non-linear in the parameters. Experimental results demonstrate the parameter estimation of two residential refrigerators.