Residential Baseload Energy Use: Concept and Potential for AMI Customers

Dennis Nelson, BC Hydro - Power Smart

Keywords

Abstract

Household electrical baseload is a concept launched by the BRANZ group, while working on the 10 year HEEP end-use load research study in New Zealand. "The baseload1 of a house is the typical lowest power consumption when everything that is usually switched off is off, and was on average (112±4) W. This baseload represents the upper limit for the standby power consumption." (Camilleri, M., et al 2006, 9-61). The BRANZ group investigated how much of the "lowest 10-minute period load" is composed of standby load, and how much is driven by other identifiable causes.

This paper endeavours to take this new concept, "baseload", integrate it with available 15-minute utility load research data, in an attempt to provide tools for the utilization of the new utility advanced metering infrastructure (AMI2) hourly usage data for all residential households. Customers need to see how their dwelling uses energy at various times of the day, and they need to see how well they are doing compared a baseline, such as their neighbours, before investing more effort or money in energy savings. Many utility uses for hourly AMI data have been identified, but to use this data for residential customer information and energy savings guidance is of great importance to BC Hydro.