Demand Side Management potential of buildings in Germany’s future energy system

The German “Energiewende” with an increasing share of renewable power generation, especially from wind and solar energy, challenges the power system with its temporal fluctuations and geographical dispersion. Solutions to those challenges may be extensions of the electricity grid and storages but also sector coupling of the electricity system with the heating system (power to heat). Buildings, former passive consumers, can be turned into Demand Side Management (DSM) devices. Electric heating systems like heat pumps, controlled by advanced energy management systems can turn them into flexible loads. Several studies already show that using buildings as DSM devices can benefit the future power system. In this joint research project three institutes of the Technical University of Munich investigate benefits of DSM in buildings using a model buildup, which couples detailed building models with an energy system optimization. The results will be analyzed, regarding the impact of energy flexible buildings on Germany’s electricity system (e.g. integration of renewables, development of storage and power plant capacities).